Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“How often do we visit London in a year?” Tang En asked casually as he sat in the coach heading to Fulham FC’s home grounds, Craven Cottage. He looked out at the street scenery of London.
“Who knows?” Kerslake said, following up leisurely.
“At least six times,” Dunn said.
“There are six English Premier League teams, huh? London may be the city with the greatest number of teams from the top-level league.” Tang En’s gaze drifted afar. They were getting closer to Fulham FC’s home stadium, but the place that caught his attention was not Craven Cottage, but rather the northeast.
Looking over there now, he could not see any sign of the large blue figure under the horizon, only rows upon rows of houses. Tang En could not see it, but his heart was clear. That was the direction of Chelsea’s home grounds, Stamford Bridge.
In the large city of London, there were six EPL clubs of various sizes. However, to Tang En, there were only two clubs which he would consider as his opponents in his heart. One was Arsenal, in North London, and the other was Chelsea, situated in the middle.
Overall, England’s football had always shown signs of strength in the North and weakness in the South. Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton, and Newcastle from the North were all old, famous powerhouses. Those who participated in the top leagues in England also often came from the Northern teams. This could be traced back to the earliest period of prosperity and the development of modern football – to the lead up to the Industrial Revolution.
Numerous heavy industries were concentrated in North England, and modern football developed rapidly from within the new working class, leading to an area rich with football culture. It was no surprise for Liverpool or Manchester to have strong, internationally renowned teams emerge from that area. In South England, London had a high concentration of football teams, since, as the capital, many people converged there.
Fulham FC was established earlier than Chelsea. In fact, Stamford Bridge was originally built for Fulham FC’s use (because it was within the Fulham region). However, the suggestion was turned down by Fulham FC. As a result, Chelsea Club was born.
Before Bates took over Chelsea, the two clubs were both unknown. Bates’ arrival brought Chelsea Club their first glory, and thereafter, mogul Abramovich ushered in the second period of glory for the team. Since then, although Fulham also had Mohamed Al-Fayed, another mogul, backing them, the difference between them and Chelsea gradually became bigger. Chelsea was a standard powerhouse, a force to be reckoned with in the European football scenes. And Fulham was merely a normal English Premier League team.
The direction Tang En looked in said a lot about the positions the two teams held in his heart. Even if their opponent for this match was Fulham, Tang En’s heart was still thinking about Chelsea. Who asked for the two clubs to be this close to each other?
When the team arrived at Craven Cottage, CCTV5’s designated team was already ready for them. They had gotten permission to film for five minutes in the locker room. However, they could only film the footballers changing and leaving for their warm-up in that time.
Dunn was caught by them and gave a short interview. Most things could only be left to Kerslake to manage. In the locker room, Kerslake loudly reminded the players to make good use of the time to warm up outside. Tang En had yet to arrive. He was stuck outside the stadium entrance, caught by even more reporters.
“A two victory streak. If they take down Fulham in this match, they will get their third win in a row. Manchester United’s match will take place tomorrow. If they are victorious in this match, Nottingham Forest will temporarily be first in the point accumulation table for the Premier League. To Tony Twain’s team, this is a fabulous temptation. Ever since leading the team back into the English Premier, Tony’s team has yet to taste how it feels like to be the leader of the EPL. Even if it’s only temporary, it is still worth their effort in attaining it.”
On television, an expert was analyzing the match for the audience. If not for his input, no one would have realized that Nottingham Forest had not managed to rank first even once in the League.
When Tang En finally got away from the pestering reporters and returned to the locker room, the team’s warm-up was almost done. Neither Dunn nor the CCTV reporters were around. They had gone to the field to capture the scene of the team warming up as well as Dunn working.
The locker room, which had music playing earlier, was quiet. Tang En alone walked in circles around the room. His mind was not thinking about what might happen in this match, but the future of the team.
A sudden burst of noise from the direction of the field broke his train of thoughts. He looked back to find the locker room door being pushed open. The players and coaches walked in.
Dunn’s interview was still ongoing at the door. The Chinese reporters were making good use of the chance, trying to capture the internal situation in the locker room. Tang En walked over to shut the door.
“Everyone. If we win this match, we can be the boss,” he said, turning to face the players who had just gotten seated.
※※※
“This is our home ground. Don’t give those people outside a chance to make a scene here!” Like Tang En, Fulham’s main manager was a young man—36-year-old Chris Coleman. He was not, however, as famous as Tang En.
Since they were both young, they were naturally unwilling to suffer a defeat. Prior to the match, regardless of whether it was the lottery company or the general media, the favored outcome was for Nottingham Forest to gain the full three points in their away match. They completely disregarded the feelings of the home team, Fulham FC. Coleman did not wish to prove them right. In this match, he did not hold onto the idea of having to win. Rather, he held onto the belief of “absolutely not letting Nottingham Forest win.” He instilled this belief into his players; Fulham FC, in its entirety, was hoping to create trouble for Tang En during this match.
Players from both teams entered the field. The managerial teams also arrived at their respective positions and took their places.
“Tony, I’m a bit worried.” Dunn turned to Tang En immediately after sitting down. He had a thought lingering in his mind. He wanted to speak up earlier but had not had the chance.
“Hmm?”
“Before the match, Fulham’s main manager said that he would be making trouble for us.”
Tang En waved his hands, unbothered. “Any manager that comes up against us will say the same. Even I would say the same to our opponents. It’s no big deal, just pretty words to boost morale.”
“But Fulham has sent out five rear defenders.”
“Let them defend.”
Seeing that Tang En wasn’t worried, Dunn said nothing else. He hoped his feelings were misplaced.
When the match began, Fulham indeed set out a stance of locking down on their defense in their home field. In this match, Coleman arranged a formation of 451. From the first minute of the match, they retreated onto their half of the field to defend.
No matter how Nottingham Forest controlled the ball outside, they refused to come out. They would rather only get one point in their home grounds than take the risk of attacking and allowing their opponents to counterattack. All of England knew how quick Nottingham Forest’s counterattacks were. Any mistake could bring an irreversible consequence.
Coleman told his players to never rush forward and lose their defense, even if they had to watch a scoring opportunity be wasted. Under such a strategic direction, the first half of the match was extremely boring. Faced with a wall in the form of Fulham FC, Nottingham Forest did not have any good solutions. Other than a few long shots from Rafael van der Vaart, Forest could not find a better method of breaking through their opponents. Ruud van Nistelrooy and Eastwood were both tightly marked by their opponents, and the penalty zone was crammed with people. Even van Nistelrooy, playing as a center-forward, was forced to pull to the wings to receive balls.
They were already struggling, especially Eastwood, since after his injury, he was no longer a forward who could depend on playing rough with his opponents. Eventually, he also gradually pulled out of the penalty zone to attempt at long shots.
In the entire first half, Nottingham Forest attained 11 shots at the goal, of which eight were long shots. Rafael van der Vaart had three shots, Eastwood had four, and George Wood took one. Of the 11 shots, seven of them landed within the goal area, but none of them scored. Fulham’s united defense truly gave Forest Team some trouble.
On Fulham’s side, having no goal loss was no small feat. They paid the price of getting four yellow cards. However, the fouls committed by the players were scattered and not entirely shouldered only by the rear defenders; from their forwards to their fullbacks, players from a variety of positions received the cards. Evidently, this was specifically instructed by Fulham’s main manager. For the results of the match, he could be said to have put forth immense effort.
“The first half has ended! Under Fulham’s crazed pressing and lock-down on defense, Nottingham Forest did not manage to get any good opportunities. Their speedy counterattacks had no space to be utilized in the face of Fulham’s defense. Coleman’s strategy is extremely successful. He has managed to curb Forest Team’s offense!”
“I believe Tony Twain’s purchase of Ruud van Nistelrooy was certainly not for the sale of jerseys, but to make up for Forest Team’s weakness in positional play in the last season. However, van Nistelrooy’s condition in this match is not fantastic. Up until now, he did not even get a shot at the goal.”
The commentator was right. Ruud van Nistelrooy’s condition in the current match was bad. Tang En could tell, too. However, he still intended to give van Nistelrooy an opportunity in the second half.
During the halftime break, Tang En adjusted the formation of the team. Ribéry, who had been entirely suppressed in the left wings was swapped out with Petrov, while Eastwood completely retreated from the penalty zone.
In the previous two years of the English Premier, Ribéry had become famous. As a result, everyone had researched him thoroughly. This match rang Tang En’s alarms. Ribéry’s effects in the flanks were becoming more and more limited. He needed to consider other paths.
While Petrov was similarly a wing player and his unique point was even simpler than Ribéry, he had the advantage of being an “unfamiliar face.” The numerous EPL teams did not yet understand him and lacked research. Substituting him in might bring out an effect of a miracle player.
Pulling Eastwood out of the penalty zone was to use his abilities in long shots and assists from the back. His long shots from the penalty arc area were rather threatening. Faced with heavy deployment in the penalty zone from their opponents, set plays and long shots were the best solutions.
Speaking of set plays… During the halftime break, Bale did not follow them in. Dunn made all the reserve players warm-up on the field. Hopefully, it would be helpful for the second half of the match.
In the locker room, Tang En was anxiously arranging the team’s strategy for the second half. The calmness in the beginning of the first half completely gone.
CCTV5’s filming team did not get permission to film in the locker room during halftime. They could only wait on the sidelines, chatting about their thoughts on the first half. They felt rather awkward about the current situation. No one had thought that this match would turn out to be such a tough fight. Nottingham Forest had not been able to make a breakthrough even after such a long time, and the moment of high they were waiting for refused to make an appearance.
“Hey, the happy ending won’t become a bad ending, right?” someone asked.
“Who knows?” The team’s leader, the producer of the program this time, shrugged. “That’s not something we can control. You see the use of having you guys prepare two proposals for this? No matter how they play, our program can still be produced successfully.”
“That’s true, Mr. Zhang. But who wouldn’t wish for their own team to win? Speaking of this, I didn’t expect Nottingham Forest’s relations with China to be this good. They have a Chinese player, a Chinese assistant manager, and a China expert who has a fervent enthusiasm for Chinese culture as their main manager.”
“Yeah. It’s probably something normal even if they suddenly visit China in a few years.”
“If that really happens, we’ll have to invite them to the studio to record a special episode!”
“Stop daydreaming up such beautiful stories. Have you already forgotten about the annoying matter with Real Madrid? Nottingham Forest’s main manager is not someone that can be easily gotten along with. He’s an eccentric character. When the time comes, who knows what kind of things he will do?”
Hearing their head say that, no one else spoke further about the matter. Real Madrid blowing them off had only just happened a year ago, and it still had a deep impression on them. It truly wasn’t a good memory.
As the group of them discussed this, players from both teams entered the field again. The second half of the match was about to begin.
The two teams switched sides before resuming the match. On the field, it was no different to the first half. Fulham FC continued their lock-down on the penalty zone, firmly refusing to leave the area. No matter how Nottingham Forest’s fans jeered or threw insults at them, they continued like cowardly turtles in their shells.
Tony Twain was not sitting calmly in his manager’s seat like the first half. He had already taken his place at the sidelines, closely observing the changes on the field.
Looking at Tony’s mildly anxious face, the television commentator suddenly laughed. “Fulham FC’s performance reminded me of Nottingham Forest from a season ago. Tony’s team also forced their opponents into a dead end like this that time. I didn’t think that Nottingham Forest would also deal with by an opponent in the same manner. Manager Tony Twain, so you’d have such a day too, huh?”
Petrov’s appearance on the field did shine for a few moments. Unfortunately, Ruud van Nistelrooy’s condition in the match was truly terrible, failing to grasp opportunities well. At the 70th minute of the match, Tang En finally decided not to continue waiting for van Nistelrooy’s condition to improve. He substituted Nicklas Bendtner in for the Dutch shooter. Bendtner’s heading ability was better than van Nistelrooy, and his body was stronger. Tang En hoped that he would be able to break through the goal gates and score a goal from the front.
After Bendtner was fielded, Fulham’s retreated even more tightly. Both Petrov and Ashley Young had no opportunities. The penalty area was choked full of Fulham’s players. Any long shot would be easily blocked out. The Fulham players did not look like they were playing a match at all, but rather, they were using their bodies to close any holes.
In the 80th minute, the score was still 0:0. Tang En’s stubbornness surfaced. He knew that Fulham wanted to get a point in their home field. The more his opponent wanted that, the more Tang En refused to let them have their way. You want a draw? You’re taking a draw as a victory? I insist on winning! I’ll make your one point into zero!
In the final moments, he used Gareth Bale, who excelled at set pieces, and changed out Leighton Baines. With Fulham’s crazed fouling, Forest Team had no lack of set pieces in the front field. It was only that Rafael van der Vaart had not kicked well in the previous few times he took the penalty. He either kicked too high or got directly blocked by the player wall.
After Bale entered the field, the right to be the main penalty kicker for the team was automatically transferred to him. Young Bale was not afraid. By now, he held the record of saving the team with his free kicks at numerous critical moments. Tang En hoped that this time would be no exception.
Nottingham Forest very swiftly attained a front field set piece 25 meters away from the opponent’s goal.
“Gareth Bale stands in the front of the ball. There are only eight minutes left from the end of the match. He takes a run, lifts his foot—ah!”
Amid the ear-splitting jeers within Craven Cottage, Bale’s beautiful left-footed curve ball landed on the outside of the intersection between the crossbar and the goalpost. And in the duration of the ball flying towards the goal, Fulham’s goalkeeper was completely immobile—he had already surrendered.
“He’s trying too hard for the angle!”
Tang En’s heart almost stopped because of the excitement. If the ball had gone in, Fulham, who had been on a tight defense for the last 80+, would be finished. The scene he would be all too happy to see would have appeared, with the despicable Coleman looking like a deflated ball. After the end of the match, Tang En would have been able to walk over with a victorious stance and purposefully pretend to be a gentleman, shaking the opponent’s hand. Shedding crocodile tears, he would comfort him. “The Premier League still has 35 more rounds. Please continue to work hard, Mr. Coleman!”
However, the future he looked forward to did not appear.
“Damn it!” he cursed lowly. He was not swearing at Bale. The little monkey had already done well enough. He was cursing their terrible luck.
It was such a precise free kick, but it did not even manage to get in. After the football left Bale’s feet, Fulham’s fans could only use their despairing jeers in an attempt to stop the ball.
“Tony. Getting a point in the away match is not too bad.” Dunn reminded him again.
Tang En, who had been vexed to the point of tearing his hair out, looked up at Coleman who sat next to them. Then he shook his head at Dunn, saying, “No. We can still win. We must win. Fulham is reaching the extent of their strength. Don’t you see that their stamina is already at their limit? If we put on a bit more pressure, and add another piece of straw, just another piece, they are f*cking finished!” Saying so, he did not care to let Dunn continue explaining. He rose from his seat and walked to the sidelines, indicating for the entire team to press forward, fighting to break through and gain a point in the final moments.
Even Pepe had rushed forward to participate in the attacks. The backfield of Nottingham Forest had large, humongous swathes of empty space. They themselves had not noticed it. All of Forest’s players thought that Fulham had to be grateful to God for being even able to hold onto their one point in the end. How could they possibly have any additional strength to retaliate?
But the impossible still happened. At the moment the Fourth Official raised his signage indicating three minutes of injury stoppage time, Fulham intercepted the ball in the backfield and suddenly launched a powerful kick to the front. Their right midfielder Wayne Routledge, who had been loaned from Tottenham Hotspur, sprinted madly once he received the ball. He, being a player depending on his expertise of speed, left behind Forest players trying to return to defend. And then, he came face-to-face with Edwin van der Sar who went on the attack, and intelligently chose to lob the ball!
“Wayne Routledge—GOOOOOOOOAL! Something unbelievable has happened! Fulham, who had been dead set on defending for 90 minutes, have taken the lead! This goal is very likely to be the determining goal for the match! Listen to the cheers in Craven Cottage, it’s deafening!”
Amid the commentator’s excited shouts and the frenzied cheers of the home team fans, Tang En unexpectedly turned and walked slowly back to his seat, sitting down without flying into a rage. He exhaled heavily.
“We’ve been tricked, Dunn. Coleman, that b*st*rd, wanted three points from the beginning, not just one! D*mn it.”
Dunn knew what Tang En meant. That Routledge guy was substituted in by Coleman during the final minutes of the second half. He was used as a forward despite not being one. What they were waiting for was for the opportunity to counterattack when Forest Team became anxious, causing the team to press forward. This had originally been Tony Twain’s most frequently used trick. He did not expect himself to be defeated by the same ploy.
As Nottingham Forest became viewed as a strong team by more and more people, their main manager, Tony Twain, also adopted the style of a “manager of an elite team.” His sights were set far and high, but he was no longer able to see the path immediately ahead of him.
What was truly a strong team? What did it mean to have the attitude of the strong? For young Tony Twain, he still had a very long way to go.
“Bad end.” The man standing beside the camera labeled with the “CCTV” logo watched Tang En as he sat on the manager’s seat conversing lowly with Dunn. “What an unexpected result. That’s one thing England’s media said correctly. This is a manager who defies expectations.”
“Hey, Head Zhang…”
“Yeah?”
“Are we here to film Dunn or Tony Twain?”
“…”
