Chapter 455 Volume 3 Red Forest Penalty Shootout

"George Wood got his third yellow card, so he will be automatically suspended for the next round. If Forest... we mean if, Forest can actually beat Arsenal and go to the final , then they will also lose an excellent defensive midfielder and a captain..."

The voice of the commentary came from the TV in the box, and Evan Daugherty, the chairman of the Forest Club, turned his head and glanced at the seat on the right.

There sat George Wood's mother, raptly staring down at her son on the field below.

Can she feel what her son was thinking the moment he bumped into Henry?

"Madam..." Evan said to her, "Your son is very good, very good. I am sorry for this yellow card..."

Sophia turned to look at him, shook her head, and replied with a polite smile: "It's okay, Mr. Chairman. This is just his job."

※ ※ ※

George Wood seems to have quickly forgotten about his recent yellow card.

As Tang En said, the game is not over yet, and it is not yet the time to be frustrated or painful because he will miss the next game... I don’t know if there will be a next game. If it is going to be painful, there must be a Painful reason.

Arsenal's free-kick did not pose any threat to Nottingham Forest's goal, Henry's shot went wide.

Next, the players of Nottingham Forest absorbed this lesson and never blindly pressed the offense again. On the contrary, Arsenal mustered their last strength and took advantage of the momentum just now to launch a continuous offensive against the Forest team.

Only this time, under the leadership of George Wood, the Forest team's defense was very stable. There are not many opportunities for Arsenal to directly threaten the Forest team's goal, and more often they are forced to shoot from outside.

If such an offense still wants to score goals, I am afraid I can only count on two points: 1. The defensive players of Nottingham Forest made their own mistakes; 2. God helps.

The first point is unlikely, and the second point is even less likely.

Wenger and Twain are now standing on the sidelines, while their assistants are busy behind them. Both teams are starting to prepare for the penalty shootout.

The referee finally blew the whistle for the end of thirty minutes of extra time after George Wood headed Ashley Cole's cross over the touchline.

"The whole game is over, and we are officially entering the penalty shootout! Neither side can beat the other in the 120 minutes of the game. The winner can only be determined through this cruel method."

The players were lying on the turf, taking the time to rest, and the team doctors were massaging the players who were going to take penalty kicks.

Wood sat on the ground, and he was at the highest height now, because everyone around him was lying down. He wasn't on the penalty list and he didn't need a massage to recover. Tang En was busy in front of his eyes. He was giving individual psychological counseling to everyone who was going to kick a penalty kick, helping them reduce stress and build up confidence.

At the same time, the goalkeeper coach took Van der Sar to explain in detail the habit of every Arsenal player taking penalty kicks. Maybe he felt that he might not be able to remember just talking about it, so he also stuffed a note into Van der Sar's hands.

"This is..." Van der Sar was puzzled.

"Boss's idea." The goalkeeper coach pointed to Tang En behind him, "He asked us to carefully study the penalty characteristics of each opponent, and then write it down here. If you can't remember, or don't match the number, just Look at this... Anyway, the rules don't say that you can't read the note."

Yes, it was Twain's idea, and it was Arsenal's main goalkeeper Lehmann who made him think of doing this.

Before this game, Tang En had a "penalty kick" item in his plan. He made preparations for a penalty shootout with Arsenal, and asked the players to practice penalty kicks during training. Later, when he was looking at the Arsenal player list, he suddenly thought that Lehmann was the main goalkeeper of the German team in the 2006 World Cup. He squeezed out Kahn's main position. From this point, Tang En thought of the quarter-finals between the German team and the Argentine team in the World Cup. The final match was decided by penalty kicks. A little note from Lyman. It wrote down the penalty characteristics of all Argentine players. According to the characteristics written on this note, Lehmann took a seat, and then responded by saving penalty kicks in a row, and finally sent the German team to the semi-finals.

After the game, that note became the object of a big media rush to report and hype.

Tang En remembered this "story" from this, and now he decided to copy it intact and use it to deal with Lehmann's Arsenal. For this reason, he asked the goalkeeper coach to study the penalty kick characteristics of all Arsenal players, summarize them, and then write them on a note. If there is a penalty shootout, he will give it to Van der Sar and let him follow suit.

This time it really came in handy.

Van der Sar listened to the goalkeeper coach's explanation, opened the note, and sure enough...it described the penalty characteristics of almost every Arsenal player in very simple words.

He thought it was amazing and couldn't figure out how the boss thought of it. I don't know if using a small note in the penalty shoot-out counts as cheating, anyway, he has never tried this method before. In the past, everyone said that saving a penalty kick tested the goalkeeper's experience and reaction speed, but now it is a test of whether the coaching staff has done a thorough job in the early stage. He only needs to save according to what is written on this note, for example Lower left, upper right, middle...

I really don't know if this is good or bad for the goalkeeper, but... now I don't care about so much, victory is more important.

Van der Sar carefully put the note into the goal sock, not daring others to see it. He wasn't sure if it was illegal to do so...

※ ※ ※

Tang En finally finished the mental work of every player on the list. He got up and saw George Wood sitting on the grass to rest.

He walked over, then squatted down in front of Wood. "Well...George, you know, I'm not angry at all when I see you get a yellow card for a foul."

Wood looked at Tang En and said nothing.

"Thank you." Tang En patted Wood's leg, stood up and walked away.

As soon as he left, Albertini came over and sat down cross-legged in front of Wood.

"George, I'm curious about what you were thinking at that moment... No, don't tell me." He reached out to signal Wood to stop talking, "That's the path you chose... You know how many players in this world dream of Can I participate in the final of the Champions Cup? Even when I was playing in AC Milan, I had many excellent teammates around me. .”

"Yes, I'm sorry, Demi..." Seeing Albertini with a serious face, Wood stuttered.

Unexpectedly, seeing him like this, Albertini laughed instead: "What are you afraid of? You bastard who is not afraid of anything... If it were me, in that case, I would make the same choice as you Well done, George." He stroked Wood's hair and smiled at the young man in front of him. It's like seeing a child who grows up day by day, and my heart is filled with a sense of pride and accomplishment that outsiders can't understand.

※ ※ ※

The assistant coaches of the two teams handed in their respective penalty shooter lists, and the referee compared them one by one. After confirming that they were correct, irrelevant personnel would be cleared from the field.

George Wood stood up from the ground again and walked towards the referee with Henry. They were going to conduct a "guess side" about which team kicked the penalty first. While he and Henry were guessing coins, his teammates walked to the middle circle, where they put their arms around each other's shoulders, leaned close together, passed strength and faith between their hands, and faced nothing together. Know the future.

Wood won this contest with Henry, and he chose to kick the penalty first.

Nottingham Forest's first player is Eastwood. The Forest team has no shortage of players, and Eastwood is the first pick. As long as he is on the field, he must win the penalty kick in the game. Take the penalty.

Facing Lehmann, Eastwood pushed the ball in the middle very calmly and hit the football.

The City Stadium erupted in cheers as Eastwood pumped his fist.

Arsenal's first appearance was defender Lauren. Although Arsenal's first penalty taker is Henry, but Henry has a habit - he never kicks the penalty of his own creation, so in most cases, Arsenal's actual first penalty taker is the Cameroon defender . In the penalty shootout, putting Lauren first and Henry last is double insurance.

Van der Sar saw Lauren come on the field, and when the opponent lowered his head to place the football, he took out the note and glanced at it quickly, then stuffed it back.

"Lauren took the penalty... the goal went in!"

Two thousand Arsenal fans cheered. Van der Sar punched hard on the ground. Based on what the note said, he judged that he was going in the right direction, but he only missed the football...

But this time also strengthened his idea of ​​​​playing the ball according to the note.

Nottingham Forest's second player to play is striker Nicolas Anelka. He pushed to the lower left corner, and the football rolled quickly against the turf. Lehman judged the right direction, but the angle was too tricky, and the football hit the post and bounced into the goal!

"Now the score is 2:1! Nottingham Forest is temporarily leading..."

After the goal, Anelka shook his fist at Lehmann in a demonstrative manner, and then retreated.

Van der Sar took out the note again, and the second person who came up from Arsenal was the Dutch teenager Van Persie. He looked up at Van Persie, then looked down at the note, which read: Bottom right.

The shooter's right is the goalkeeper's left.

Van der Sar tucked the note back, knowing what to do.

Standing in front of the door, watching his compatriots, Van der Sar slowly opened his arms, he was like a wall.

Van Persie glanced at the referee, started running after hearing the whistle, and then pushed! Van der Sar flew to the left the moment he kicked the football, and as expected, the football shot by Van Persie flew straight towards him...

"Van der Sar! He saves Van Persie's penalty!! Beautiful!"

Tang En, who was nervously watching the goal from the sidelines, jumped up. Their work was a success, and his idea worked! The most important thing is that now Nottingham Forest has the upper hand in the penalty shoot-out, and also has the upper hand psychologically, and the balance of victory has gradually favored him.

Van Persie looked at Van der Sar, who saved his own penalty, with a frustrated expression. Unlike Henry, his penalties tend to lack variety, he doesn't shoot lobs, and he doesn't use fake moves to deceive the opponent's goalkeeper. His shots are as straight as his temper... this time let Van der Sar caught it, or let the Forest team's coaching staff catch it.

Nottingham Forest's third player was Franck Ribéry. The Frenchman was equally calm in the face of Lehmann. His shot directly made Lehmann judge the wrong direction.

"The goal was scored! Then the pressure is on the Arsenal players..."

Arsenal's third player was Cesc Fabregas.

The Spanish teenager calmly kicked the penalty kick. Van der Sar judged the right direction, but he was a little slower, allowing the football to slip in from his hand.

But this time, Van der Sar did not beat the ground in annoyance, because he was confident.

The Forest team's fourth appearance is the teenager Gareth Bale. This is the first time he has participated in such an important game. It seems that his expression is a bit too serious. The kid who could break through calmly in the game against Chelsea, was nervous when facing the penalty kick in the Champions League semi-final.

Bell placed the football twice. Seeing him do this, Tang En couldn't help opening his mouth. He could even hear his own heartbeat in this noisy environment. An ominous premonition slowly emerges...

Bell runs up and takes a shot! Lehman judged the right direction, but he couldn't reach the football, it was too far away...

"Ah - young Bale kicked the ball directly into the stands! He missed the penalty!"

There was a burst of cheers from the Arsenal bench, and it was clear that their joy must be based on the pain of their opponents.

Bell raised his hands and grabbed the hair on the back of his head, tears welling in his eyes. No matter how you look at him, he is still a child who has not yet grown up.

Van der Sar came up and patted his head, "Don't worry, little monkey. Go back and wait to celebrate the victory." When he said this, he looked at the fourth Arsenal penalty shooter-Brazil Al Gilberto Silva.

He was replaced by Wenger at the last moment of the game, and his role was to kick this penalty. Before Lauren, Gilberto was Arsenal's No. 2 penalty shooter, and his penalty level cannot be underestimated.

But Van der Sar is not afraid, he is confident.

Bell walked back to the team with tears in his eyes. He was naturally greeted by warm hands. No one complained that he missed the free throw.

Van der Sar stood in front of the door, tightening his gloves.

Gilberto started to run after hearing the referee's whistle, and Van der Sar was unmoved.

The Brazilian takes a shot!

Van der Sar didn't throw it, he fell on the spot, and the football bounced off his leg!

"Van der Sar - beautiful save! He judged correctly! In the middle, Gilberto's shot was saved by the Dutch goalkeeper!"

There was another huge cheer in the city stadium, this time it was almost deafening!

Gilberto, who missed a penalty kick, was dejected, and Van der Sar raised his arms in front of him, like a general returning from victory.

"The situation is not good for Arsenal. If Nottingham Forest kicks the ball in next, then Arsenal's fifth man will not have to play because they have already been eliminated..."

Henry stood at the front of the team, ready to play the most crucial goal. But whether he can go up and kick depends on Lehmann's performance.

Nottingham Forest's last man on the pitch was Mikel Arteta, the team's second penalty taker. If he can get the ball in, the game will be over and Forest will qualify for the Champions League final. If not, Arsenal will have a chance to decide their own fate-Henry kicks the football in, both sides score the same, and continue to kick penalty kicks; if Henry does not kick the penalty, Arsenal will still be eliminated.

For a moment, everyone felt the tense atmosphere, which spread from the penalty spot to the whole audience.

The Arsenal fans stopped making noise, and the Nottingham Forest fans also held their breath, for fear of disturbing Arteta's performance.

"Maybe this is a goal that determines the fate of the two teams. Arteta now shoulders a heavy burden..."

Tang En stared closely at Arteta, wishing to see every little move he made. But Arteta didn't do anything. After placing the football, he stood up and waited for the referee to blow the whistle.

Just as nervous as him was Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger, who was also staring at the goal, and the expressions of the two were surprisingly consistent.

Into the forest team's paradise.

If not, then Arsenal's salvation.

To enter or not to enter?

Arteta was looking over his shoulder at the referee, as if waiting for a car with flashing lights. A crisp whistle sounded, which was very clear in the quiet city stadium.

"Arteta runs up...he shoots! Goal in - goal!!"

The City Stadium, which was still silent just now, erupted like a volcano with the screams of the commentator.

Lehman judged the right direction, but it's a pity that Arteta's ball is too tricky, he can't catch it...

"Nottingham Forest made it to the Champions League final! They did it! One year after promotion from the English Championship they qualified for the Champions League and another year later they were in the Champions League final! It was like two In that summer sixteen years ago, Brian Clough's Red Forest went from here to a glorious era!"

The stands vibrated, and everyone was jumping and cheering with their arms raised high.

The players on the bench couldn't hold back and rushed onto the court, while Twain was hugged by Chris Lack.

"We made it, Tony!"

"It's unbelievable. The biggest dark horse in this year's Champions Cup went all the way. They eliminated countless powerful opponents along the way, Benfica, Glasgow Rangers, Inter Milan... Now it's Arsenal! Tony Twain's team did it Things people don't even think about..."

The Nottingham Forest players on the field rushed to the penalty area, pressed Arteta and Van der Sar under them, and celebrated this great victory frantically. As newly promoted last season, after they became dark horses in the league, they became the darkest dark horses in the Champions League this season. This group of young players is creating a future that no one dares to imagine.

"Congratulations to Nottingham Forest, this familiar name will appear again in the final of the European Champions Cup...I have a feeling of going back in time. The young coach Tony Twain has created another history. He led the team to the Champions Cup The youngest coach in the final!"

After embracing Chris Lack, Twain walked towards the court. He raised his arms high, enjoying his glorious moment. In his ears, the cheers shook the heavens and the earth, and when he looked up, the night sky seemed to become extremely brilliant.

No, it's not as if, it's really brilliant... Brilliant fireworks rose above the city stadium, crackling, lighting up everyone's excited smiling faces.

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