Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
During halftime, the situation that Guti had to face in the second half was still in his imagination. He might be able to reference previous games to get a sense in advance, but none of those teams were Nottingham Forest, and the managers of those teams were not Tony Twain.
After the second half began, he quickly understood the situation. George Wood was still there to keep an eye on him, but the players who disrupted him were replaced by other people, such as van der Vaart.
Guti had decided that he would not be angry no matter how much Wood provoked him. On the contrary, he wanted to find ways to send Wood off the field. However, the situation was completely different from what he had envisioned. The Forest team instructed them to take turns to provoke him, foul, make rough moves that fell between a foul and not, and pull little stunts the referees could not see to.
He could hardly stand it several times. He wanted to hit back hard and then turn to leave abruptly, but he knew his retaliation would result in a red card, so after he thought about it, he did not put it into practice.
He had made a lot of progress in controlling his temper.
※※※
The game continued with Real Madrid’s offense still largely organized by Guti. When Guti was assailed by the Nottingham Forest players, the rest of the Real Madrid players took over Guti’s job. Diarra participated in the offense. While his offensive level was the weakest out of Real Madrid’s four midfielders, he was the most active one because he was the defensive midfielder and had more chances to get the ball.
It was kind of amazing. Diarra should have been defense-oriented, but he rushed to the front of the Forest team’s penalty area and did not go back. Sometimes he could also be seen on the right flank. Everything he did had to do with the offense, and when the Forest team counterattacked, Diarra still slowly ran back from the front field. His speed could not be considered fast, and coupled with his running posture, he looked like he was unable to run fast, which made people anxious.
Sneijder was a very comprehensive midfielder, but it was not feasible to get him to take on the responsibility of organizing the offense in Twain’s view.
Not knowing why, Twain always worried about Sneijder when he watched him play football. He was concerned about his uncalled-for mistakes. He always seemed to have no way of firmly controlling the football. His actions were big and looked brash. His main task as the midfielder on Real Madrid’s left flank was to assist in the offense and provide support for the defense. He was there to assist. He was slightly browbeaten when Nottingham Forest had a free hand to press in closely.
On the other side, Robinho’s position was more flexible. He could suddenly go left or right, which made him a headache for Twain, because his personal skills were outstanding. He could become an important factor to break the balance in a deadlock.
Overall, Real Madrid had the upper hand in the game, and Nottingham Forest was still dominated by defense.
※※※
Twain observed Guti and found that he was indeed very angry, but he would not explode, which frustrated him. If Guti could really keep his temper under control, then he would be the unlucky one in the end.
Because the number of fouls increased, the odds of getting a card became higher. It was not good for them to get more cards.
However, Twain could not change his decision yet because even though he said to provoke Guti more, Nottingham Forest also had to be on guard against Guti in terms of formal tactics. They could not give him too much space to move, or his straight passes could rip apart the Forest team’s defenses.
Twelve minutes after the second half, van der Vaart finally got a yellow card. He was given yellow card by the referee because he had pushed Guti down from behind. There was a flurry of disgruntled boos in the Bernabéu stands. The fans thought the referee was too late in issuing the yellow card. According to their standards, George Wood should have been sent off in the first half and ten minutes into the second half, and the Forest team should have only been left with one goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar.
Guti still did not explode and even had a smile on his face. He was either mocking van der Vaart or ridiculing Tony Twain, who came up with the idea.
Twain sat in the technical area, frowning.
The location of van der Vaart’s foul was not ideal: twenty-five meters from the goal and to the left side of the front of the penalty area.
After having been closely marked by the Nottingham Forest players for close to sixty minutes, Sneijder, who had been constantly making mistakes, stood in front of the football. He wore the number 23 jersey. The original owner of the jersey number stood among the human wall in front of him, with his hands across his chest, nervously gazing at the new Real Madrid number 23 in front of him.
Ever since Beckham and Roberto Carlos left, Real Madrid’s first pick for free kicks had become the Dutch kid.
For Sneijder, the first period of the season was perfect. With the frenzy of goals, victories, long shots, and free kicks that he accomplished for Real Madrid, especially after he cracked open Villarreal’s goal with a free kick, he was hailed as “the New Beckham.”
Sneijder did not like the label because it sounded as if he was just a replacement for Beckham. He was Sneijder, and not anyone’s number two.
Sneijder stood in front of the ball, staring intently in front of him. Guti stood next to him, and everyone knew he was covering for Sneijder.
The human wall was built under the command of Edwin van der Sar to block the nearest corner. Then Edwin van der Sar moved back to the furthest corner.
“Sneijder is ready for the shot…”
The referee’s whistle rang, and before the commentator was done, he saw Guti run to the football. The Forest team’s human wall remained unmoved because they knew it was a feint, and the Dutchman behind was the real McCoy.
Guti did not run straight through the football. He paused in front of the ball and then swung his left leg…
Twain jerked up from his seat, and shouted, “F**k…”
Sneijder stood behind Guti and did not move an inch. He watched Guti kick the football to send it flying over the stupefied human wall and fall into the nearest corner of the goal!
Edwin van der Sar did not expect to Guti to be the one to shoot the free kick, so he did not respond. He just turned his head to watch the football fly into the goal.
When he turned to see the football enter the goal, Guti clenched his fist and cheered. Sneijder wanted to come up and hug him in celebration, but almost got elbowed instead. The resentment from being continuously harassed that had been bottled up was finally given the opportunity to vent. He was like the center of a volcanic eruption; it was dangerous to get close to him.
Raúl was the first to rush up and embrace him, containing the hot magma that spewed out of Guti.
This goal was too important for Real Madrid.
“Guti! Guti! Guti!” Thunderous cheers erupted in the Bernabéu stands. They shouted the name of their vice-captain and jumped out of their seats.
Like them, Schuster and the others rushed out of Real Madrid’s technical area with their arms raised high. With the score equalized, a huge weight was finally lifted off him.
The goal was eventually conceded, but Twain was not furious. He just stood on the sidelines and shook his head.
It looked like the current Guti was tenacious beyond his imagination and remained unshakeable in the face of those provocations. Twain felt he had to give up the arrangements he had instructed during halftime. Wood could deal with Guti alone. More players on him would only mess up their own pace.
Taking advantage of the time while the opponent was celebrating the goal, Twain called Wood to his side.
“George, go up and tell them that Guti is yours and yours only.” He pointed to Wood as he spoke to him.
Wood nodded.
“If you need to foul, it’s best to foul near the center circle. If he’s in front of the box, try not to let him turn around as the main defensive strategy. You know what to do.”
Wood continued to nod.
“Don’t give them a free kick in that dangerous zone. A place kick is a very important method to break the dense defense. Tell them to put more efforts into the counterattack. We have to score another goal when we get the chance.”
“Okay.” Wood turned around and ran back, but Twain stopped him again.
“Be careful not to get a card, George.”
Wood grunted and then turned around again to run back to the field.
Twain walked back to the technical area and sat down. He shrugged at Dunn with a helpless look.
Dunn reassured him, “It’s nothing. We already have an away goal and it’s still just a draw. On the whole, we are the ones who have the upper hand.”
Twain shook his head. “I wanted to leave Bernabéu with a victory…”
“The game is not over yet.” Dunn could only continue to encourage.
Twain was silent. He turned his head to re-focus on the game.
※※※
Wood returned to the field with Twain’s latest order. Guti found that the men who had mobbed him were gone. Only George Wood alone was left in front of him. He turned his head to glance at the Nottingham Forest technical area. He knew it had to have been the manager’s intention.
Did he realize it was useless to let so many people deal with me? Guti smiled.
Yes, for a time, he was forced to the point that he could not even make a successful straight pass. Other than being able to do cross and return passes, the rest were just mistakes. But you cannot prevent me from getting a free kick, can you? Don’t think that just because Real Madrid used to have Figo, Roberto Carlos, Beckham, Zidane and now there’s Sneijder, no one else can do a free kick. It’s exactly my intention for you to besiege me. With so many fouls, I will definitely get a suitable free kick even just one time.
But Guti could not laugh. When fewer players mobbed him, his chances did not increase. George Wood no longer set provoking him as the number one goal. Instead, he defended against him.
As a famous defensive genius, Guti suffered unspeakably by Wood’s marking. If they were further away from the goal, Wood would intercept the ball as much as he could. When he could not intercept the ball, he would not hesitate to use a covert foul to resolve the battle. When they were close to the penalty area, he mainly used interference and did not make moves lightly. It forced Guti to give the football to his teammates. If Guti had to fight it out alone with Wood, it would be as he wanted, but Guti would not win many times.
When Real Madrid wanted to attack and pass the football to Guti from the backfield, Guti was used to turning his head before he received the ball to observe the positions of his teammates and opponents, so that he could decide what to do when he received the ball. But Wood would take advantage of the opportunity suddenly snatch it away. He managed to intercept the ball that should have belonged to Guti several times using that method.
He caused Guti to only consider protecting the football when he received the ball, and then to think about how to organize the attack. As a result, Real Madrid’s offense was greatly diminished.
Robinho was a good player, but he had not yet been able to become the organizer of the team’s offense. He fought hard against the Forest team’s two full backs on the flank. Unfortunately, he was of little assistance to Real Madrid’s offensive. Some people liked to watch him perform fancy skills in the face of the opposing defenders, but in Twain’s view, performance was useless. Unless he could break through in a straight line, he was just making crosswise movements outside. No matter how fancy his actions were, they were no different from a circus clown.
Robinho’s movements were a lot more practical than when he first went to Real Madrid, but the Brazilian’s flashy side remained ingrained in nature. Sometimes, when he clung to his footwork, the team had already lost the opportunity to attack. Besides, his movements were cumbersome, not simple and practical like Messi’s. Messi could be characterized by one word: fast. Fast movement and fast pace were the most practical skill in modern football arena.
Twain laughed every time he saw Robinho start to do scissors when up against Bale or other defensive players. If my defenders are deceived by a few moves that they knew were fake, then Nottingham Forest would not call itself “a European champion through defense.” Instead of putting all your efforts on the step over, wouldn’t it be better to dodge, grab, and pass the ball?
When Robinho first started playing, people exclaimed that he was “Pelé’s successor, “but in Twain’s eyes, Robinho’s progress over the last few years had been limited, a few light-years away from what people expected of him.
At least Robinho was nothing to be afraid of in the game.
※※※
After Guti scored, he received George Wood’s meticulous care, Robinho was stuck in a quagmire of fighting alone, Sneijder’s form was flat and he was up to his ears between offense and defense, and Higuaín was at a loss and made frequent mistakes in the face of the Forest team’s fierce marking and tackles.
Only Raúl was as diligent as ever, but he could not get the ball because of the lack of effective midfield support. During the defense, his sense of responsibility drove him to even go back to their penalty area. It was doubtful how much energy he could use to participate in the attack. Of course, no one doubted that he did not exert himself but working too hard in defense might affect his play in the offense.
As for Marcelo and Ramos, Schuster was apparently afraid of the Forest team’s flank offense, so he did not ask them for frequent assists.
Real Madrid was out of ideas when up against Nottingham Forest entrenched in defense.
And what about Nottingham Forest? There were several chances to counterattack, but they did not manage to seize them. With Real Madrid’s frenzied attack, they did not even have a chance to fight back.
By the time the game ended, the score was 1:1.
The score had to have upset Schuster, but he did not show it. He just stood on the sidelines for a while, then turned and shook hands with Twain. He walked into the tunnel with his head lowered.
Having gotten an away goal and a tied game, Twain also did not show a happy side. He felt a little reluctant — he had hoped to win, but unfortunately he only almost won.
With regret, Nottingham Forest left the Spanish capital and flew back to England to prepare for the next leg of the match. Even on their own home ground, Twain was not confident that they would be able to defeat Real Madrid. It looked like they still have work to do on Guti…
