Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
When Guardiola received the Nottingham Forest starting lineup list before the game, he looked at the name in the forward line. He thought for a moment, and then asked his assistant beside him, “Is Ibišević injured too?”
Vilanova shook his head in reply, “I haven’t heard of such news. All we know is that Eastwood is definitely absent from the game with an injury.”
Guardiola fell into deep contemplation when he heard his most trusted assistant say so.
He really did not know why Tony Twain served up this completely unfamiliar striker when Ibišević was not injured. He did not even have any information at all on the player presented before his eyes, only that his name was “Aaron Mitchell.” It was only because it was written on the starting list. He did not even know how tall Mitchell was until he saw the real person. Not to mention this player’s technical characteristics and real level…
He frowned. Barcelona’s training in defense was targeted at Ibišević but now Ibišević was sitting on the substitutes’ bench. Barcelona’s defenders knew nothing about the player in front of them. How were they supposed to defend? Should they observe first for a while and then decide? Then he’d better hoped that Nottingham Forest would not take advantage of this situation to score a goal first…
It looked like they could only do it this way. No one in the coaching unit was familiar with this “Aaron Mitchell”, so the Barcelona players were less likely to be familiar with the player they had never heard of.
It was a scene that took place before the game began. Now Guardiola was sitting in the visiting team’s technical area and watching the game on the pitch. In the area next to him, the manager’s seat was empty in the home team’s technical area. The Chinese assistant manager looked like a manager in appearance, but he was a little too nervous.
Guardiola still unwittingly looked to the stands and seemed to be able to find Tony Twain among so many people. In fact, he did not find anything.
※※※
At this point, Twain was enjoying the football game surrounded by a group of his closest fans.
“You rarely watch the game from this spot, don’t you, Tony?” Fat John said with a smile, sitting on the left. The game had just begun, and his attention was still on the people around him.
“I had been penalized and sent to the stands many times. But this is my first time sitting in the stands where the hardcore fans gather. Well… the view is a lot better here than the technical area.”
“Why don’t we change seats? You can sit here in the future and I’ll sit there.” John pointed to the Forest team’s technical area below.
Twain grinned and did not speak.
On the other side, Bill poured cold water on his friend and said, “I bet you can’t sit down for forty-five minutes.”
“Don’t put your own level as the standard on someone else, Skinny!”
Taking advantage of the two men’s bickering, Twain turned back and looked up. Nottingham Forest treated the two UEFA two inspectors very well and gave them seats in the VIP box. But it was actually arranged by Twain, including sitting in the stands which was Twain’s idea as well. Since we are the home team with the home advantage, then we must make good use of it. Otherwise it will be a waste of our resources.
When he arranged to be seated in the stands, it was not really about being able to enjoy the game with his old friends here. Twain had another purpose.
He glanced back at the box and never saw the two black-clad game inspectors. However, he was sure the two men must be up there, drinking and watching the game.
So, he interrupted John’s and Bill’s argument over who would be more capable to sit in the Nottingham Forest manager’s seat.
“Hey, guys. I want to discuss something with you…”
John and Bill turned to him at the same time and stopped arguing. “Anything you need help with, just name it, Tony!” This time they came to an agreement.
“Well, it’s like this…the UEFA people use every possible means they can to stop me from contacting the coaching unit and the players below, so I don’t have any communication devices on me…”
“I’ll lend it to you!” Bill pulled out his cell phone, but it was swatted down by Twain.
“Don’t take it out. I can’t even borrow someone else’s cell phone. Do you think they don’t know what I’m doing here while they are sitting up there?” Twain pointed upward without turning back. “They’re equipped with a powerful binocular.”
“Wow, is that so!” Bill was amazed. It was only an inspection. Why did they need to act like voyeurs …?
“I prepared it for them.” Twain laughed.
“Huh?” Both of them were taken aback.
“I want to show that I’m very cooperative with them and definitely will not play any tricks. Preparing the binoculars for them proves that I do not have any schemes in mind. But actually…” Twain gave a sly smile, a look which made John really want to give him a punch.
“I can’t really get in touch with below through any means of communication, but the UEFA can’t ban the fans from shouting, can they?” He smiled again, with his eyes squinting together.
“Hey, Tony! Don’t beat around the bush, just say it! What do you want us to do?” Bill was a little impatient. He was not a man of good patience.
“Sometimes I may need to give the latest instructions based on the situation on the pitch, but I can’t tell my coaches and let the players know my ideas. But I think maybe I can borrow your mouths to tell them. If I have information I want to tell the people below, I want you to help me shout them out, but don’t be too deliberate. It will be just like cheering the team in the stands… That way, when the UEFA ask me about it, I have an excuse. They can seal my lips, but they can’t shut your mouths. Ha!”
John laughed with Twain. He now thought that Tony Twain’s mind must be different from everyone else. Otherwise how could he come up with so many clever schemes?
Bill’s reaction was a little slower, but it dawned on him soon after.
“No problem, Tony!” He shouted excitedly, “We’d be delighted to meet the UEFA head-on! I always find the group of men in suits objectionable!” He also brandished his fists.
John also patted Twain on the shoulder and said, “Just take it that you’re directing the game from the stands. We’ll be your assistant coaches.”
Twain nodded to the two men and said, “Thank you guys!”
John laughed and continued, “As long as you can win Barcelona and make things difficult for the UEFA, not to mention we will help you voice out the instructions, it’s not a problem even if you want us to pave the way!”
When he finished speaking, he got up and left his seat to inform the nearby fans. It would be impossible to act collectively by relying on two or three people. So, this grandstand must be informed of what they were going to do in a while.
※※※
Five minutes into the game, Barcelona was aggressive in its offense because they kicked off the game and were able to use the technical advantage to keep the ball on their side. Another reason for Barcelona’s fierce attack was that a problem seemed to arise in Nottingham Forest’s midfield defense today… George Wood repeatedly turned to the north stands during the game to find that man. He thought it was strange as he had always thought since he was the team captain, he should be able to take charge. But when he habitually glanced toward the technical area before the game and could not find the familiar figure, he felt a little unsettled…
Since when did he considered him as a person to rely on?
This is ridiculous! I’m George Wood. I had tried to make a living in the slums since young and took care of my mother. I don’t need to rely on anyone!
Despite thinking this way, he still incorrigibly threw glances at the North Grandstand…
There were so many people there that he could not possibly find him.
Just as he turned his head, Iniesta passed the ball past his defensive zone and he did not even react.
※※※
“George is a little distracted…” Twain muttered and frowned in the stands.
Bill, the “number one loudhailer” beside him, pricked up his ears and asked, “Do you need us to shout this?”
“Ah? Well, there’s no need to.” Twain hurriedly waved his hands. The side effect of getting the fans to be loudhailers to help was that they could mistook what he said casually as something that needed to be shouted out… If anyone was too enthusiastic, awkward scenes such as thousands of fans shouting “māle ge bī” (your mother’s f**king c**t) in unison would appear. Because he was used to muttering dirty words repeatedly while he watched the games, and the words would all be in Mandarin…
He did not know what was wrong with Wood but judging by his performance of the last few minutes, he was always glancing around on the pitch and not focused on the game. It was a very rare situation. George Wood was always known to focus his attention, threw his full concentration on the games and had a dedicated attitude. A situation like today should not happen to him.
In that case, what was wrong?
If he were below, he could stand on the sidelines and shout, “George!! What the hell are you doing?! Play attention to the game!”
Now, although he had the fans to act as the loudhailers, they could not just shout out any remark.
※※※
Dunn also noticed Wood’s anomaly. But his reaction was not the same as that of Twain. He looked down and pondered for a moment. Then he got it and looked up with a smile. He turned around to look for Kerslake and his loud voice. He said, “David, can you help me tell George that Tony’s in the middle of the North Stand?”
Kerslake thought it was a little strange. He asked, “Didn’t you say that in the locker room?”
Dunn smiled, “Maybe someone did not hear it at the time.”
Kerslake shrugged and rose from his seat. He really felt that as an assistant manager, he was sometimes like a nanny. He had to deal with any matter, regardless of its importance…
After taking a deep breath, he bellowed, “Geor—ge!!”
Wood heard Kerslake’s voice and turned his head to look over. He found Kerslake pointing to the north stand and yelled, “He’s there! In the middle! Stop looking! I think he must be dissatisfied with your performance!”
The remark was effective. Wood glanced at the north stand and refocused his energy on the game.
When Messi was about to break through him, the ball bounced off the turf from his interference and knocked against the leg to go out of bounds. It was even considered Nottingham Forest’s throw-in.
“George Wood was not in form in the opening five minutes of the game and his position allowed the Barcelona players to break through several times. But it all seems okay now! Messi had wanted to play the same old trick, but he took a tumble instead. Not only did he fail to break through, he gave the Forest team a throw in after Wood’s close interference.”
Messi also felt the course of events had changed. He was like a zebra in the African savannah. As soon as the wind turned, he smelled a lion in the low bushes. He shrewdly looked up and looked around with his ears pricked up and on guard.
Whether George would admit the feeling or not, he was at peace at the very moment. Before, he was like a lion snoozing in the afternoon, lazily lounging under the bushes, letting the bunnies and zebras hopped around in front of his nose, even too lazy to lift the eyelids.
But when the last light of the sunset disappears below the horizon and the night descends, our lion will rise from the shadows, with its cold eyes staring at its prey.
It is hungry.
※※※
When Wood re-focused on the game, Barcelona’s five-minute advantage was immediately wiped out. In addition, there was the bad news—their men were completely unable to adapt to the crumbling pitch at the City Ground stadium.
When Silva ran to an empty gap on the left side and raised his hand to ask for the ball, Xavi sharply noticed that there were no Forest players marking him nearby. So, he did a feint and passed the football over.
Such a pass was cakewalk for the Spanish national team’s playmaker—provided that it was done on normal turf. At the City Ground stadium, his pass eventually rolled out of bounds. Silva lifted his leg and did not get it. Because the football in front of him suddenly jumped to the left and flew straight out of the sidelines!
The Catalan commentator thought at first that there had been a mistake in the two men’s coordination and regretted missing out on such a good opportunity. But then Barcelona’s pass-and-go balls went wrong one after another, he felt something was wrong—when he first saw the pitch, he only thought the turf was of poor quality and that some areas had exposed dirt. But now he found that there was a problem with the foundation of the soil under the turf!
“I don’t know how the Nottingham Forest football club maintains its turf, but I do know there’s not one professional football club in the world that will maintain its grounds in such a way. This must be Tony Twain’s idea again! This is… really a lack of sportsmanship!” He did not have to think about impartiality. He was a Catalan commentator and the people who listened to him must be the Barcelona fans. He did not need to consider the mood of the English fans, so he could try everything he could to denigrate Barcelona’s opponents on the show. The response was very good at the same time.
After Silva’s miss, Bojan had another very good chance. He broke through Woodgate and almost faced off Akinfeev alone. But just as he lifted his leg to get ready to shoot, the football popped up on the uneven turf! He kicked out in the empty air, and nearly twisted his knee on the supported leg… Fortunately, he reacted quickly and threw his entire center of gravity out. Although he cut a sorry sight and was covered in dirt, he was not hurt.
The football was easily saved by Akinfeev who struck.
Akinfeev, who got the football, still remembered to smile at Bojan, who was lying on the ground.
“Ten minutes since the start of the game, Barcelona had relied on the advantage of its ball possession after the kickoff to launch several threatening attacks. George Wood’s wandering mind led to many loopholes in Nottingham Forest’s defense. But Barcelona did not manage to score a single goal. Their players suddenly behaved like they could not play football. Their performances on the pitch were…comical. I think it must have something to do with the venue. To tell you the truth, the turf on the City Ground stadium is terrible! The Barcelona players are wearing the yellow away jerseys for the game. But I reckon they’ll be brown by the time we get to the halftime interval…”
Seeing his players play like this, Guardiola, sitting in the technical area, shook his head. He really had no ideas. He was not superman and could not move Camp Nou’s turf to England in an instant.
He could only hope that Nottingham Forest would be restricted by the pitch at the same time. Even if the score was 0:0 in the end, Barcelona would still advance.
Such a rotten venue was a double-edged sword. No one knew how the football would move. Sometimes the naughty football could cause trouble for Barcelona. But who could say that at other times it would not become Nottingham Forest’s nightmare?
