Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Shaun Barclay’s arrival surprised Twain a little. Because in the entirety of the period during the European Cup, this England Football Association’s main character had never come to spectate his team, he only offered some help during the checkup of Wood, during other times, it was as if he disappeared.
Barclays did not come into contact with the players, but instead directly went straight to Twain. That point satisfied Twain, at the very least, England’s managers were not like the Chinese Association’s managers, skipping the head coach and directly implicating themselves into the team matters. Up till now, in the English team, he felt like he got the respect he deserved.
Barclays and Twain were meeting by themselves for the first time in the coffee shop at the basement of the hotel. Barclays was most concerned about what results England could achieve this time. The Football Association’s minimum target for Twain was a top four finish, but since Twain had already accomplished his task exceeding their expectations. Following logic, the Football Association’s CEO should be relaxed. But humans are always greedy, since we are already in the finals, why not fight for the championship?
Everyone had this exact same idea so of course the Football Association’s CEO would have it as well.
Although Twain had already expressed his ambition for obtaining the championships, he might need to act a little humble when face to face with the CEO of the Football Association.
“I can’t promise anything.” Twain spread his hands, “The competition has not even started, and also our opponents are very strong.”
Barclays was scolding Twain on the inside for being cunning but on the surface, he smiled at him and said, “This is not the Tony Twain that I know, who was the one who proclaimed his team was the one who would win the championships?”
Twain knew Barclays was pressing himself, but his face did not have any change in expressions, he only slightly nodded. “The season is too long, we have enough time to carry out adjustments. But there is only a match in the finals, whether it is 90 minutes or 120 minutes long, the room to allow errors is too small. I don’t want you to be overly disappointed after having high expectations, Mr Barclays,” He rebutted without hesitation.
Barclays continued scolding him inside. He came out this time to hear out what Twain’s true aim was. In the end, Twain’s lips were sealed, not saying anything.
“But I don’t think anyone’s target is obtaining the runner-up, right?” He asked.
This time, Twain nodded definitely. “That is for sure, we would work hard to fight for the championships.”
That line was Barclay’s only gain. To his slight displeasure, Twain remained as unruly as he was rumoured to be and cold-hearted towards the chairman of the Football Association. Towards the end of the meeting he even felt impatient, as if he had a lot of matters at hand, while Barclays himself had an abundance of time.
After leaving the hotel, Barclays was blocked by reporters for a brief interview.
“Our goal is to be champions.” In front of the media, he announced the ultimate goal of the team on behalf of Twain.
In contrast to Barclays’s high profile, Twain was surprisingly keeping a low profile before finals.
In the past, when the team Twain was coaching in an important match, he would never forget starting a vocal war with the opposing head coach, a psychological warfare. But this time, he did not do this at all.
He did not take the initiative to attack Italy, nor did he provoke Lippi. Other than the regular trainings, he would not mention any other extra things. It was as if he wanted to leave his first encounter with Lippi till the press conference on the day before the match.
However, the more Twain was acting low profile, the more worried the Italians were. Considering Italy’s fate, if Twain was acting like a grandson before the game, he would become the sole godfather after the match.
The Italians were worried what Twain was plotting behind his low profile against them. In these few days, the Italian media was trying every method to find out the training conditions of the English team, trying to figure out what the English people was plotting.
In reality, they really had wronged Twain…
※※※
Wood passed on the information Bale told him during the training break onto Twain. This information was helpful for Twain in implementing the tactics, especially for defensive tactics, it was a lot more tailored for the team.
The overall tactics of the game have long been determined. All of the trainings today were carried out based on that one tactic. No matter how different the opinions were in the coaching crew, all of them would have to put down their own opinions once the head coach was decided and work together with all their effort.
The good news spread quickly. With Ben Trey and Walcott both recovering from injury, they would be able to go onto the roster during the finals. Other than Mitchell which was suspended due to the accumulation of too many yellow cards, England was able to send their strongest roster to welcome Italy.
George Wood’s right foot was no longer a problem. The team doctor Derek White thought that Wood was strong as a bull.
※※※
Three days of preparation time passed by quickly,. In the blink of an eye, it was the last day before the competition. On this afternoon, the teams would go to the Bernabeu stadium for a ground adaptation while the two managers would bring a player to the last news conference before the final match.
The Italian team was arranged to enter the Bernabeu adaptation site first, after the adaptation training, the head coach Lippi brought the Italian captain Chiellini to partake in the news conference.
During the meeting, the reporters were most interested in the first and final face-off between the two coaches. Lippi and Twain were both highly-known and successful managers in European football but they have never had an encounter. Lippi did not talk about Twain during his most popular years. Twain would definitely not take the initiative to mention someone who was unrelated to him at all, regardless of whether he was the head coach of a championship team.
But today, it was clearly inevitable that the two of them would be taken out to make a comparison.
After asking the routine questions, a reporter for the Italy’s Milan Sport stood up and asked the question: “Marcelo, what do you think of Tony Twain?”
“He’s a very good manager and the trophies he’s brought to Nottingham Forest are testament to his ability. ” Lippi’s answer was not surprising at all, because this was a fact.
And it was clear that such an answer could not satisfy the journalists.
“But he has not made any convincing achievements in the national team coaching field…” continued the Milan Sports reporter.
“I don’t think it’s a problem. England’s performance at this European Championship was impressive and this was what he has achieved.” This time, the answer was beginning to excite the reporters. Because as an opponent, following common sense, one should not praise the other party so easily, and what’s more is that Lippi was a coach who has gotten almost all of the honour a coach was able to obtain, able to obtain his compliments was not easy.
So was his praise for Twain a smoke bomb or genuine?
※※※
While Lippi was accepting the questions from the reporters, Twain was already waiting outside with George Wood. As the media was interested in the first encounter between Twain and Lippi, the duration of the news conference would definitely be extended.
From the door, one was able to see the situation inside, and also able to hear the noises inside. But most of it was in Italian so Twain was unable to comprehend the conversations inside.
He might as well chat with Wood outside.
“How’s your mother’s health, George?”
“She is still fine…” That was what he said, but his face was expressionless so Twain could easily guess that the situation was definitely not ideal. However, he was unable to help George Wood in this aspect at all so he could only sigh inside. It was as if such a pitiful woman was sent onto mankind just to suffer.
“Would your mum watch the finals?”
“She’ll watch the television broadcast.”
“Perform better, get a trophy to make her happy.”
Wood nodded.
It suddenly turned silent again between the two people, they both seemed to have internal troubles. Wood then took the initiative to break this silence, “How are you… and Shania?”
Twain glanced at Wood with a smile, “Wood would also show some concern to other people, that;s rare. How well can we be? It’s the same every time, I’m busy with my work and she’s busy with hers. Every year we get more and more distant. For you though, you’re already 30 years old, if you do not find any women by this age, there would be people who would suspect your sexuality, George.”
Wood pouted, “Then do what you want.”
“You are really optimistic.” Twain looked at Wood as he chuckled. “The best gay magazines had already placed you as the most ideal partner in the hearts of the gay men for three consecutive years.”
Twain was really worried for Wood’s life issues, so he borrowed the name of homosexuality to affect him. However, the Westerns do not regard continuing the generation as highly as the Asians, else Twain would definitely bring out the theory of “one having nothing to be proud of if he is unfilial”, using his mother’s name to pressurize Wood.
“Tomorrow is the finals, and you still have the mentality to consider all these?” Wood rebutted.
“What should be done are already done, what else is there to do? Frown and stay silent?” Twain was smiling brightly. “That was not my personality. Besides…” He pointed Lippi who was in the room. “We can’t be looked down upon by our enemies. George, relax a little. We are the ones who obtained all three prestigious trophies, what hardships have we not seen? Ha!”
In the middle of their conversation, the news conference inside the room has ended. In the midst of the applause, Lippi pulled back his chair as he left the room behind Chellini out of the exit.
Lippi was a little surprised when he saw Twain who was smiling at him, but his expression quickly returned to normal.
He knew that Twain was greeting him with a smile, as this manager did not seem to be as vicious and untouchable as the outside world had been rumoured. Since the other side took the initiative to show kindness, Lippi also did not need to look arrogant, as he slightly nodded when he looked at Twain.
Perhaps it was due to it being finals but Lippi, who attended the press conference today, did not wear the Kappa T-shirt he usually wore on the training ground. Instead, he wore a very formal dark blue suit and white shirt. The two men passed by. Twain kept his eyes on George Wood instead off Lippi’s back view and the opposing captain Chellini started a spark upon their contact. Both of them stared at each other.
After leaving the press conference, the old smoker Lippi put an end to his own suffering. He pulled out a Tuscan cigar out from within his suit and placed it in his mouth. He lit it and took a deep breath, one so loud that even Twain could hear that noise.
With a cigar in his mouth, Lippi and Chiellini left just like that. And Twain just patted Wood who was beside him, “Let’s go, George. It’s our turn.”
He did not smoke — not that he needed it to look cool. He was the embodiment of the word “cool”. Especially when he appeared in front of the media, that continuous flashing of the lights, could clearly represent that Tony Twain was not far off with his odds from getting the world championships from Lippi.
“What do you think about Marcelo Lippi, Mr Twain? ” After the routine questions, Twain needed to face this similar question as well.
“He is an outstanding head coach. He led Juventus and Italy to obtain those championship trophies, it was long proving that point.” Twain did not hesitate nor was surprised, he answered quickly.
But for the journalists who could understand English and Italian, they laughed out loud. Because this was similar too coincidental, Lippi used the same words to answer the question.
Even their acts of being low profile was so similar, no wonder they are the opponents for the finals of the world championships.
Twain was laughed at inexplicably, but he did not ask what had happened.
“Is it a little difficult to play against such a coach in the final?” A reporter from Milan Sports asked.
“I admit it’s a bit difficult, after all, Lippi is experienced. But …” Twain’s tone changed a little, “No one came to the Bernabeu stadium to compete for the runner-up. I’m sure Lippi would think the same way, being able to beat Italy and obtain the championships, I would be extremely happy.”
“Mr Twain, you intentionally and surprisingly acted low profile, was that to let Italy underestimate you?” The reporter from Milan Sports was very aggressive.
“No, it’s not.” Twain spread his hands. “You’re insulting Mr. Lippi’s IQ. He didn’t forget to use comedy against the Italian journalist, for his constant aggression. “I do have a lot of respect for Lippi and I’m happy to play against him in the final. ”
Twain did not lie. Although as a fan, Twain hated Juventus and Lippi, but after becoming a coach, there has been a change of mind, everything was thought about from the coach’s point of view, his mindset was becoming similar as that Italian coach. Being the head coach, the tactics master was deserving of his respect.
And Twain also knew that, with Lippi’s experience, it’s himself who would end up losing out if he provoked a war of words. Lippi’s Italian team would definitely not be fooled, and for England who was always on the initiative would fall, their morale would definitely take a huge hit. Psychological warfare was not always a treasure that was sure-fire.
This double-edged sword, if used poorly, would hurt yourself, so Twain had always went for the easier alternative.
Lippi was an old fox, a stone, if he screws up, he would mess up his own and teammates’ morale.
“I hope that there would be an exciting contest tomorrow, but that does not mean I would promise that I’ll play an offensive ball game.” Twain slyly laughed, “For me, the results are the priority.”
Hearing him say this, some of the reporters sighed. It looks like the finals match tomorrow would be a boring match, if there are no surprises, it is mostly likely going to end in a penalty shootout.
On the other hand, some reporters heard what they wanted. Tomorrow, tomorrow England was likely to be defensive, probably prioritizing defensively counter-attacking, sacrificing offense, and dragging them into extra-time and penalty shoot-outs.
The original tactic that was covered up for three days, and this was what Twain implemented for the English team? That was so boring…
Defensive, defensive, defensive… someone please knock open his brain to see if there was anything inside other than “defense”.
Twain would not go ahead and think about what the reporters were discussing, after answering the reporters’ questions, Wood and him left the Bernabeu stadium as he took the team bus and followed the team back to the hotel that they were staying in. There would be a final tactical meeting tonight, then after would be the quiet wait for tomorrow’s night.
His first time leading a country team into the World-level championships match was approaching so quickly. (To be continued, if you want to know what happens later, please log in to www.qidian.com, where there would be more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!
