Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
They beat Everton with the Christmas tree formation, but in the following league game they drew 1-1 with Manchester City at home with the same formation.
This did not affect Twain’s thinking and confidence, as it allowed Nottingham Forest’s coaching staff to find out what the problem is, after all, this was a new tactic that still needs to be honed.
A draw was not a bad result, after all, he did not lose. And he did not let those watching the show get what they wanted. Bendtner was as combative as ever in the game, like an angry bull. But there was no longer media hype about this matter, Twain had no reason to argue with a transition coach. There were more important things waiting for him.
In Paris, the European Champions Cup knockout stage draw ceremony was commencing.
The 16 teams that qualify for the knockout stage would be put together by fate’s hands to fight each other.
The Premier League, which had been strong in recent years, had four, the most of any league who participated. It was Nottingham Forest, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool.
The former Little World Cup Serie A and La Liga were close behind, with three teams each. Representing Italy are Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan, while Barcelona, Real Madrid and Valencia represent Spain.
The Bundesliga, one of the four major leagues, is the poorest, with only Bayern Munich being in the top 16. It’s a thing that all German fans feel helpless – the Bundesliga can only be supported by Bayern Munich, but in fact it has long been an indisputable fact that the Bundesliga has been less competitive because of Bayern Munich’s domination. Bayern Munich are both the saviours of the Bundesliga and the main culprits of the Bundesliga’s decline…
This time, even the French and Dutch teams have two teams into the top 16, after comparing, one can tell how the Bundesliga is so embarrassing.
The two teams representing France are Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon, while the Netherlands are Ajax and Eindhoven.
The Portuguese Super League had a representative and it was currently second-placed Porto in the domestic league.
Defending champions Barcelona are, of course, the most high-profile team, having won all six of their group games, scoring 18 goals and conceding only four. They had already been considered the number one favourite in the Champions League this season.
Another high-profile team is Nottingham Forest. As a team that has missed a season and returned to the Champions League, their performance in the group stage has been impressive. Two wins over Juventus cannot be done by luck, also, Nottingham Forest also got out of the group stage, but they scored fewer goals than Barcelona.
Everyone remembers that at the beginning of the season, Twain said, during the draw of the allocation of group stage, “Come and use your unspoken rules on me!”, an incident which made him get fined. Whether under Johansson or Platini’s presidency, UEFA has always declared that they are transparent and fair, which was absolutely not allowed to be questioned by outsiders, but Twain, with unknown reasons, was disturbing UEFA’s backscales at this point, so fines were flying over like snow, one after one. The two sides seemed to have stopped since the 2006 finals.
In fact, regardless of Twain was picking a fight with UEFA, it is because UEFA sometimes do things that are far too suspicious. For example, this time…
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The stage is set in the style of the Champions League, with five-star symbols all over the place, on the big screen, on the background wall, on the drawing box and even on the back of the seat. The silver-studded European Champions Cup is back in sight, and it is placed in the center of the stage, attracting the attention of everyone here. That’s the common goal, and there was always the power to dream, no matter how much one’s strengths was.
Corina, a former famous Italian skinhead referee who was invited to the draw as a draw guest, stood in front of the glass box, and with his right hand, he pulled out of the box with a colored ping-pong ball. He opened it, glanced, showed the note to the stage, and read, “Barcelona.”
Barcelona’s name appeared on the big screen behind it, this was the first team to be drawn out.
Next, drawing the other ball team.
Zinedine Zidane went ahead as another special guest.
He fumbled in the box for a while and pulled out a small ball. After unfolding, he read expressionlessly:”Nottingham Forest. ”
He was expressionless on the stage, and the others on the stage laughed.
Everyone knew what this draw meant.
With Barcelona and Nottingham Forest both top of their respective teams, it was absolutely impossible to hope that Barcelona and Nottingham Forest will hit the ground in the first round under the Rules of the Champions League draw. But UEFA did not say that Nottingham Forest and Barcelona would not meet under any circumstances.
So …
Barcelona’s first game, Nottingham Forest’s second, can meet in the quarter-finals if they can beat their respective opponents.
This was really out to eliminate all difficulties and to overcome the rule limit to draw two teams together!
The coaches sitting around Twain were turning around to laugh with Twain – that was what he wants to see. Playing for the likes of Eindhoven, Ajax, Porto and Paris Saint-Germain, he was afraid he could not put in effort.
The Chinese narrator, who broadcast the draw to a Chinese audience, laughed, “There is a chinese saying in China – You are not enemies if you don’t come together. Nottingham Forest and Barcelona looks like they’re on the hook. ”
The British commentator said:”The first two teams drawing the same results is likened to Mars hitting the earth. There will be a lot of great games in the Champions League. ”
Spain’s explanation,” Is this the first time they have met? ”
Everyone seemed to think that the two teams reaching the quarter-finals was not a problem at all. They were talking about the situation in which these two teams play each other even before knowing their respective opponents were.
In case of an upset, it would be wonderful to see how their faces would change.
The telecast gave Twain and Guardiola a close-up each. Guardiola was expressionless, or even serious, while Twain was not any different from flowers.
One must make people lament that Twain was really a “slut”. People want their opponents to be weaker as possible, but he liked to take the initiative to provoke those big bosses.
But the sensational scenes did not end there.
After the first round of the draw, the eight teams begin to draw opponents.
Barcelona drew Eindhoven, which was the best draw. It could even be said that the draw could not be better. There was even an envious voice at the venue..
At last there was a subtle smile on Guardiola’s face. In any case, the first round against Eindhoven is better than the first round against any of those big teams.
The next person to draw Nottingham Forest’s opponent was still Zinedine Zidane. What he pulled out this time was
Inter Milan.
Excitement cheers and booing echoed.
Tonight’s draw was filled with the smell of intrigue! The English narrator shouted; he was a little disgruntled. It was like trying to kill Nottingham Forest, where a lock was not enough and two locks being double insurance.
If it was Nottingham Forest two seasons ago, there was no fear of such a battle. Others did not have to worry about anything. But Nottingham Forest are now in a poor position, clearly not as good as they were when they won the Champions League. Barcelona and Inter Milan were as strong as day by day. Even if he was lucky enough to pass Inter Milan, can Tony Twain guarantee his team would get away unscathed? Where no one has accumulated yellow cards and no one has been injured or anything?
Then they will face the defending champion with that mindset.
It was a dark future.
The telecast gave Twain a ten-second close-up. He was still laughing! Last time being similar to flowers but now he was basically like a flower.
What did he say at the end of last season?
“Mourinho, you got my team out of the books, we will pay back next season! ”
It was truly fate!
Mourinho, did you think you can escape my invincible fate by escaping England? It is of no use! A man like you who is so impressive, even if you escape to the ends of the earth, you cannot escape from my palm. This time, you are dead!
Mourinho was sitting opposite of Twain, with ten men between the two. Mourinho did not turn back to look at Twain when the result came out, and there was no eye contact between the two men. He bowed his head and said something to his partner and did not care what the people around him thought of the draw.
Twain did not look at Mourinho either, he was staring up at the draw on the big screen. It looks like he was one of onlookers who was just watching the show and not one of the parties involved…
Even Platini found the scene so interesting that he smiled and explained, “I guarantee that this result had never been manipulated…”
There was another burst of laughter under the stage.
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After the draw ceremony, the final results were announced.
Barcelona and Eindhoven will play first, with Nottingham Forest taking on Inter Milan on the same day.
Then Paris Saint-Germain will then host AC Milan.
Bayern Munich against Juventus.
Arsenal taking on the away team Valencia.
Real Madrid hosting Liverpool.
Manchester United play Lyon on away.
The match with Porto against Ajax is probably the least watched.
Important matches in the quarter-finals are Nottingham Forest v Inter Milan, Bayern Munich v Juventus and Real Madrid v Liverpool.
After the draw, Twain was surrounded by a large crowd of reporters, all of whom wanted to hear how he rated the results of the draw. For example, whether UEFA would be scolded for their black curtain, many people were looking forward to hearing him say that classic line, “Come on, bring out your unspoken rules! ”
But this time Twain let them down. In the face of many reporters’ excited looks, he said with a smile, “I am very satisfied with the results of this draw. Thanks to the UEFA’s drawing, I drew the opponents I mostly want to meet. ”
The answer was really a disappointment for journalists who feared that the world would not be in a mess.
So there was a reporter very blatantly asked, “Are you worried about being fined by UEFA? ”
Twain glared at him, “Don’t make jokes, Mr. Reporter. I’m not short of that money. I think you guys are too bastard, you guys don’t believe me when I speak the truth, and gossip around when I’m telling a lie. I’m really happy with the result. Before the season I said Barcelona’s value in the league was not enough, and some people attacked me for having red eye disease. Now I can prove to those people whose eyes are actually wrong. As for Inter Milan, I’ve been thinking about revenge since he knocked out Nottingham Forest more than a season ago. I’m even worried that i didn’t have a chance…You all know that the lottery is a small probability event….”At this point, Twain laughed, “So of course I’m very grateful to UEFA for solving both of my problems at once. It’s a matter of efficiency, I don’t have to wait until next season, next season, next next season…”
But, Mr Twain. Inter Milan are very strong, do you have the confidence to beat them? ”
“Nonsense. If I don’t have the confidence, then why am I here to play in the European Champions Cup? I don’t believe that Nottingham Forest and I are still taking the elevator between the Premier League and 2nd League. I wouldn’t have won the Champions League without confidence. My Nottingham Forest have won two European Champions Cups, one Premier League title, and none of them have been picked up cheaply. My championship value is real and full of color. Do you think every team that made it to the last 16 of the Champions League has the good fortune of Barcelona and could draw the weaker team in the first round?” He also did not forget to laugh at Barcelona, several rounds ahead on the start of psychological warfare.
“Mr Twain, I heard you have a bad relationship with Mourinho…”
“You’re right!”, Twain did not deny this time, as he very simply and cheerfully agreed with the reporter’s statement, completely not trying to cover up on the surface. “He and I are enemies. Ask him, and you’ll get the same answer. I’m actually very much looking forward to and confident about the game against Inter Milan. Against them, Nottingham Forest have a psychological advantage. ”
Twain also did not forget to bring Inter Milan into the psychological warfare of the battle. If he were to play he would play big, it was always better to play with the whole crowd. It was a pity they were lacking a fourth member…
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The next day’s newspapers and television, as well as the Internet, reported the results of the draw in the knockout stages of the European Champions Cup. Pictures of Tony Twain and Mourinho, as well as Guardiola’s three young managers at the draw, were all prominent, with three different expressions and meaning .
As the vast majority of fans saw this result, their natural first thought was
” Conspiracy! An out and out conspiracy !”
