Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After the game, Mourinho said he was very sorry that Nottingham Forest did not lose, which was somewhat true. Twain said he was unhappy that he had not won the game, but it felt like he was a little reluctant to admit a mistake.
Under such circumstances, it was actually a good result that they could tie the game on their home ground. After all, they had to put more energy into the Champions League.
After the league game with Chelsea, Nottingham Forest ranked sixth in the league with eighteen points. Immediately after which, there was another Champions League group stage game.
At the City Ground stadium, the Forest team would usher in France’s Girondins de Bordeaux.
This was not a strong opponent and furthermore, the game was at the home of the Forest team.
Twain expected that as a visiting team, Bordeaux would retreat and defend at the City Ground stadium and then wait for a chance to counterattack. Therefore, he just took this opportunity to see how the emphasis on ball possession would play out.
Twain used the Champions League group stage as if it was a friendly to train the squad. If the opponent knew of this matter, Bordeaux would certainly felt that they were humiliated …
Twain guessed the course of the game well. Bordeaux did withdrew at the Forest team’s home ground. It was clear that they were playing defensive counterattack, while the Forest team’s ball possession was up 68%. Their ball possession rate did go up, but the creation of opportunities had not increased. Even when they laid siege to their opponent, they still could not find the opportunity to send the football into the danger zone to turn it into a shot at the goal.
Nottingham Forest players had become accustomed to the previous game pattern of letting others attack and playing defensive counterattack. It was a little difficult for them to change in a short time.
It was rather impossible to make the imagined tactic become a reality right away.
Twain sighed in the technical area. It looked like he and the coaching staff had a long way to go.
In the end, the Forest team only defeated Bordeaux at home by 1:0. The goalscorer was van Nistelrooy. If they had stuck to their previous tactics, they would have at least won by at least two goals.
When they returned to training the next day, Twain assembled the team as usual and watched the video of yesterday’s game together while he and Dunn analyzed every detail of the game for everyone. The Forest team rarely tried playing by using ball control. Now that they had decided to take this route, Twain naturally wanted everyone to see the path they were going to take. Dunn was a tactical expert. With him explaining at the side, everyone stood from the perspective of observers to re-analyze this game. They could clearly see the areas they did well and did poorly, where the issue lied and what the specific problem was, and how they should be avoided.
After every game, there would always be a “training session” to relive the game, analyze and solve the issues by watching the video. Since Dunn transferred to the First Team, he did the specific analytical work, and Twain was only responsible for supplementing it.
A morning was spent watching the video of the game over and over again. No one thought this was a waste of time, because the players often only knew to play according to instinct during the competition. Now with an observer’s perspective, they could review the game they had played. With Dunn’s analysis at the side, anyone who was not an idiot would feel that he benefitted greatly.
Few people used to do this type of training model. They obviously watched the videos of the games. But Twain might be the first to insist on them becoming a separate training model.
Twain’s idea was simple: football was not just a sport to compete fiercely with one’s body, but also with one’s brains.
※※※
After a period of previous setbacks and at their lowest ebb, Nottingham Forest entered a steady phase in the league tournament. Their competition results were average. But the difference was quite clear as compared to the Forest team’s successive victories in the early part of last season’s league tournament.
After the game against Chelsea, the Forest team first beat Newcastle United by 1:0 and then defeated Bolton Wanderers 2:0 at home. Next, at a time when everyone thought the Forest team was going to advance at high speed, they lost 1:2 at home to Manchester United instead.
Although he lost the game, Twain was not unhappy at all.
Because George Wood was back.
Having ended an eight-game ban and like the devil returning from hell, George Wood was back in the top league tournament with his stony expression.
“What have you learned in the reserve team?” At the sidelines of the First Team training ground, Twain smiled and asked George Wood, who had come out of the locker room.
“The coach put me in offense.” Wood replied honestly.
Twain smiled. It seemed that McParland carried out his instruction well.
“How do you feel?”
“Made some progress … Not too fast though.” He did not expect Wood to frown and shake his head, feeling dissatisfied with his performance.
“Oh? Why?”
“The opponent was too weak …”
Twain burst into laughter.
“Didn’t take much time for you to look down on the reserves game, did you?” He cocked his head to the side and looked at Wood with a glint of smile in his eyes, “It doesn’t matter anymore now that you’re back to participate in a high-level competition. At that point, show what you’ve learned in front of those powerful opponents. I bet they will be shocked! But… of course, don’t be so impulsive again. You see, while you’ve been suspended, the team’s performance is shaky, and you also have nothing to gain.”
The team’s performance was shaky, but it was not entirely due to Wood’s suspension. Twain said it this way, hoping that Wood would consider the cost and whether the benefits would tally before taking any action in the future.
Wood nodded, “I understand, chief.”
“Go to training.” Twain gestured towards the training ground and Wood ran up.
“Hey, George! How does it feel to be stifled for eight games?!” Ribéry shouted out, setting off the laughter of his teammates around him.
George did not answer. He ran up to Ribéry to give him a slap and patted him on his shoulder. Ribéry also played along with a grimace and hunched his body, “Hey, not so hard!”
Twain was happy to see Wood bonding with the guys even though he still seemed a little reserved. But this was a lot better than when he first came to the First Team.
“How did George do in the reserves, chief?” Albertini spoke up behind him.
Twain looked back at him. He had just changed into his training jersey and came out of the locker room.
“While he was over there, the coach mainly got him involved in the offense. But… he said there was little progress.”
“Because the opponents were not strong enough?” Albertini quickly guessed the heart of the problem.
Twain nodded, “The kid has pretty high standards.”
“A high-level competition is a hotbed of progress for young players.” said Albertini.
Twain looked at the Italian veteran and felt he was really a good helper for him. He was the most trusted among the players and was the connection point between the coaching unit and the locker room. He would reassure the disappointed players and help to guide the new players … He did all this work. Twain was a little reluctant to let this man go.
“Hello, Demetrio.”
“What’s the matter, chief?”
“You’ve done a great job in the last few games.”
“Thanks for the compliment, chief.”
“Do you want to … reconsider your decision to retire?” Twain intended to persuade Albertini to give up the idea of retiring at the end of the season. He knew the hope was slim, but he still had to give it a try.
Albertini did not hesitate to shake his head and rejected Twain’s suggestion, “Give me a break, chief. When I first came to the Forest team, I was thirty-two years old. Now I’m thirty-five years old. I’m old and tired too.”
“C’mon, please don’t say that, Demetrio. Think about our original goal … Have you forgotten? I told you that the Forest team has a vast goal. The UEFA Europa League was just a starting point.” Twain was still making a final effort.
Albertini smiled and shook his head, “Of course I didn’t forget, chief. I’ve never doubted your goal. Look at this team now, it’s completely different from when I first arrived. They’re all very good lads.” He looked at his teammates who were fooling around on the training ground and said, “The Forest team’s goal is to be a champion. But I don’t think I can wait …”
He spoke halfway and suddenly stopped talking. Maybe he felt that it did not sound nice saying it like that. Would the Forest team take a long time for to win a championship title?
“Are you afraid you won’t be able to wait for that day to arrive?” Twain helped him finished it.
Albertini did not reply, but his silence was equivalent to consent.
“All right, Demetrio. I’ll give up my plan to persuade you to stay any longer.” Twain spread out his hands, “But I have to give you a parting gift.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a secret.” Twain played a child’s game.
Albertini was surprised as he did not think Twain would say that, and then he laughed again, “All right, chief. I’ll wait for your gift.”
※※※
With Wood’s return, the Nottingham Forest squad was no longer crippled. The team’s performance in the league tournament picked up steadily as well.
George Wood also began to actively participate in the offense during the games. Although his main task was still defense, his contribution to the offense was no longer nil.
As for the Champions League group stage competition … there was no surprise there. The Forest team maintained its unbeaten record and advanced out of the group stage ahead of time after they won 1:0 against Bordeaux at the home game. With two games left in the group stage, Twain did a substantial rotation of the roster and almost replaced the entire lineup. He wanted to give more players a chance to access a high-level competition. After all, the purpose of training them was to play in competitions and win.
That kind of situation last season must not happen again.
In a blink of an eye, it was getting closer to the year end.
A number of things had happened in the international football world during this period. Twain was familiar with some of the matters, which were not that different from what he knew. And there were some things that were not supposed to happen but happened due to Twain’s arrival.
Twain did not care about some of these things but was very concerned about some of them.
Twain was well aware of what kind of manager Fabio Capello was and what kind of team Real Madrid was. When Real Madrid’s rebellious superstars encountered Capello who governed with an iron fist, Twain also knew what kind of situation it would be.
Ronaldo was on Capello’s eradication list and was said to become close with AC Milan. Other people also said Massimo Moratti wanted to let Ronnie back to Inter Milan on the account of old attachments … Ronaldo, who was cleared out by Real Madrid, was still a popular player in the transfer market even if he was down and out. Even Allan Adams, the Forest team’s marketing manager, once excitedly asked Twain if he wanted to try to get in touch with Real Madrid. Now that they were in a hurry to sell Ronaldo, who was also in a hurry to flee the Bernabéu hell, the transfer fee should not be high.
Twain agreed with Allan’s price analysis of this transfer, but he refused to bring in this Brazilian striker. Quite simply, he did not like a player who could not be managed. Ronaldo was clearly not a good kid who could obediently listened to him. Therefore, Twain told Allan that he did not want Ronaldo regardless of how famous and talented he was and however many goals he could score.
If Ronaldo were to come, am I going to have to fight to be the boss? I’m not so idle that I would need a pain in my ass …
Twain was very concerned about another player and that was David Beckham. Originally he was just someone he knew in passing. But because of Shania who was a young girl active in the modeling and fashion world, they had become friends. This world was wonderful. With this additional layer in their relationship, Twain became more concerned about this man.
Everything seemed to be developing according to the written script. No matter how hard Beckham worked during training, he did not receive Capello’s favor. Capello had no affection for those star players such as Ronaldo, whose commercial clout was greater than his influence in football. He believed that Beckham was in Real Madrid just because he could help the club sell more football jerseys.
Since Beckham married the Spice Girl, Victoria, there had been more and more people in the world who saw him as such.
Twain did not think there was anything wrong with Beckham and Capello in this matter. The fault did not lie with either side. It laid with a third party.
The Spanish media had always looked down on David Beckham since he came to Madrid. They thought that he was there to drive the sales of the football jerseys. They also said that Beckham alone caused Real Madrid’s situation of not winning a championship title in the past few years… As soon as he heard this ignorant assessment, Twain wanted to laugh, whether in the past or now.
Would Capello’s misunderstanding of Beckham be so deep without the third-party media adding fuel to the fire at the side? In the second half of the league tournament, did Capello not recognize his mistake, place his trust in Beckham again, and then Real Madrid’s results also began to pick up, catching up to Barcelona?
However, Capello was not the only one who fully acknowledged Beckham in the second half of the league. Twain believed that many people was acquainted with Beckham again during that time. Twain suddenly felt that he still had a chance. When they met the last time, he failed to persuade Beckham because David still longed for a future at Real Madrid. Things were different now. He was vexed about his future.
Capello had repeatedly put Beckham on the bench in a number of games. His attitude was already clear. He was waiting for an excuse to purge systematically.
The entire world knew that Beckham would definitely leave Real Madrid. Even the club chairman, Calderón, did not deny this “rumor.” The only suspense was where Beckham would choose to land once he left Real Madrid.
Would he go back to Manchester United? But Ferguson would not want that.
Or Arsenal? It sounded more like a joke.
Chelsea? It was a huge possibility, which could also be just a possibility.
AC Milan? Inter Milan? The Major League Soccer in United States?
There were too many rumors of these transfers swirling around and enticing. Perhaps even Beckham himself did not know where he was headed.
If Twain did not do anything, he believed Beckham would go to America. Victoria, a woman who was around him all day, had a lot of influence over him. Everyone knew that this woman yearned for the colorful world of Hollywood, hoping that her husband would be able to develop his career in the entertainment world after he retired. She should have made arrangements for Beckham’s future a long time ago.
He could not let this happen. Twain decided to make a phone call to Beckham.
When he dialed his number, the line indicated that the user he dialed had turned off his phone.
Is it just my luck?
Twain did not give up. After ten minutes, he dialed again, and it went through this time.
“Hello, Tony!” Beckham’s voice was a little loud, not because he was in high spirits, but because of the noisy surroundings.
Twain could hear the roar of a real motor engine coming from the receiver and could not help frowning. “Hello David. Where are you? Why is it so noisy?”
“I’m at the airport in America. I just got off the plane …”
“America!” Twain could not help but shouted.
