Godfather Of Champions

Chapter 533 Volume 4 The Storm Almost

At the post-match press conference, as the winner, Twain received more than usual attention, while the loser, Rijkaard, sat next to him, watching with a blank expression on his eloquent answers to the reporters' questions. ask questions.

He used to be very familiar with this scene, but at that time, he was the one who answered the reporter's questions eloquently, while the one sitting beside him with a cold face and silent silence was Tony Twain.

That was after last season's Champions League final.

At that time, Tang En had just thrown the runner-up silver medal. Everyone thought that with his character, he would definitely not attend the final press conference, and it was almost the case. After the press conference started, only Rijkaard was there to answer questions from reporters, and Tony Twain's seat was empty. In the middle of the press conference, Tang En suddenly entered the venue, sat in his seat, and watched Rijkaard answering questions from the reporters with a sullen face.

The reason why Rijkaard felt that Twain had no manners was because it was at the end of the press conference. Generally speaking, as a loser, shouldn't the winner be congratulated? Even if it is against your will, this kind of behavior can also reflect your demeanor and win everyone's favor.

Twain had no such intention at all. He said very directly that the championship should go to the team with the best performance, and the team with the best performance was Nottingham Forest. Not only that, but at the end he added: "I regret that Barcelona can only beat Nottingham Forest with ten players."

That remark angered Rijkaard and haunts him to this day. That's why he was always dissatisfied with Tony Twain. Rijkaard didn't like to argue with people, he was a very low-key person. If Tang En hadn't insulted his team again and again, why would he bother?

Unexpectedly, in less than a year now, he and Twain would switch positions. The winner became Tang En, and he became the unwilling loser.

This situation... He suddenly understood Tang En's mood at the time - how much he wanted to get away at this moment...

It's a pity that he is not Tang En yet, so he can't do that kind of "indecent" thing.

Since it can't be done, we can only continue to accept this "disguised insult" here.

Tang En certainly knew what it was like to be a loser at this moment. While enjoying the pursuit of the media, he still chuckled in his heart: "This is called Thirty Years Hedong, Thirty Years Hexi. Mr. Rijkaard."

In fact, for Barcelona, ​​losing this game from the current point of view may be a disaster. But in the long run, maybe it is a good thing?

Real Madrid has been fruitless for several years, and it is painful to learn from it. In this season, the gold medal coach Fabio Capello is invited, and Real Madrid's revival is just around the corner. Barcelona is also experiencing the pain that Real Madrid used to have. The "Dream II Dynasty" that the media calls is itself a deformed product. It has only won one Champions League and two league titles. Can it be called a "dynasty"?

Twain doesn't think so. If a team really wants to create a dominant dynasty, such a small achievement is not enough.

If today's defeat in this game can make Barcelona's top management calm down and rethink how to take the road ahead, then this defeat will become a valuable asset in the future. On the contrary... If the Barcelona people don't see this and just focus on the outcome of this game, then there will be a lot of trouble in the future.

It depends on whether Rijkaard and Laporta can realize this - they are walking on the old road of Real Madrid's "Galaxy Battleship". Knees can think of, there is no suspense.

Sometimes he also finds it quite strange. The lessons learned from Real Madrid are right in front of us. Are the top management in Barcelona all fools? I can't see this, and I'm still leaning on that road desperately. Or...is the temptation of commercial interests just that great? Let them pursue it desperately.

At the beginning, he beat Real Madrid hard at the Bernabeu Stadium, which directly led to Florentino's resignation in frustration, and the "Galaxy Era" of Real Madrid also came to an end. I don't know if this time can end Barcelona's illusory "Dream II Dynasty"?

He is looking forward to it.

Finally, a reporter threw the question to Rijkaard. Rijkaard had nothing to say about being eliminated from the Champions Cup. It was a fact that he lost to Nottingham Forest, but what made him even more uncomfortable was that he was still killed by the opponent at home and away... Now he really wants to be like Twain, who is stubborn and refuses to admit defeat.

But if he really did this, wouldn't he be very unmannered?

The microphone was all placed by his mouth, and everyone's eyes were on him, even Tony Twain next to him squinted at him. He had to say something.

Rijkaard coughed and slowly approached the microphone.

He planned to act more gracefully, but when he was about to speak, he heard Tang En's laughter from the side. A burst of anger suddenly rose in my heart.

I lost to you, but it doesn't mean I still have to accept your insult!

"We lost, there is nothing to say. No one wants to be eliminated. In addition, I am looking forward to the Champions League next season. I really hope that Barcelona will draw with Nottingham Forest again."

After saying this, he stood up and said goodbye, leaving the press conference early for the first time in his life as a coach.

Tang En looked at Rijkaard's stubborn back, shrugged and whistled.

Before Rijkaard went out, he said to the media who were still a little surprised: "Look, if eleven players are against eleven players, Barcelona can't win Nottingham Forest. I'm not talking big."

Rijkaard, who was just about to go out, suddenly paused, and then walked out quickly.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen, I don't want to be a one-man show." Tang En also stood up, "Farewell." He waved his hand and followed Rijkaard out.

※ ※ ※

In the next few days, various reports about the game in the media were clamoring.

Tang En's few words were placed in a prominent position as quotations, and the grievances between him and Rijkaard seemed even more irreconcilable with the help of the media.

I don't know if one day in the future they all step down from the coaching bench and bid farewell to football, will it be possible to sit together and have a glass of wine?

He doesn't hate Rijkaard at all, but now they are their own masters. The butt determines the head, where one sits, one naturally thinks about something. When he was a fan, he never dared to think that he and one of the Dutch Three Musketeers would become enemies that would rival each other whenever they met.

Mourinho, Benitez, Ferguson, Wenger, Capello...these people he liked or respected at the beginning have become opponents and enemies. The world is wonderful.

Therefore, Rijkaard is not the first enemy in his coaching career, and it will definitely not be the last.

With his annoying personality, he would be damned if he didn't have enemies.

The only thing that made the Barcelona people happy was that their bitter rivals Real Madrid were also eliminated on the night after the game. This news made the Barcelona people who were also eliminated somewhat more balanced.

But they didn't know that this was the beginning of Barcelona's nightmare...

※ ※ ※

Well, let's put Barcelona aside, or turn the page on Barcelona, ​​they are a thing of the past.

The Forest team achieved this major victory, which does not mean that they can now breathe a sigh of relief and start celebrating.

On the way forward, Tony Twain and his Nottingham Forest will have to face many opponents.

Just after the Champions League match against Barcelona, ​​Tony Twain was about to lead his team to London. Their opponent was none other than another of Twain's enemies - Chelsea led by Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho is a bit depressed this season. He wants to lead the team to defend the league title for three consecutive years, but has been strongly suppressed by the re-emerging Manchester United, and has been suppressed in second place in the league standings. Not only that, but there was Nottingham Forest stalking behind him. Of course, Mourinho didn't think that Tang En would kindly let him relax. If he was not careful, he might be chased by the other party, and there would be no bones left.

Professional football is so cruel, no matter how famous a head coach you are, if you lead the team with unsatisfactory results, you will soon be forgotten.

As the end of the season approaches, whether it is relegation or the championship, they must start to exert their strength. Tang En knew that the attack would be more dangerous than good, so he made the best preparations in Nottingham.

Every time he goes to Stanford, he and his team face overwhelming boos. I have just let Rijkaard and his team taste this kind of taste, and it will be my turn to taste it soon.

Twain's strategy for the team is very simple - stick to it. In the away game, defend and defend again, and it is OK to hold one point. He doesn't ask for three points, because for him, a "guest", one point is actually a victory. With eight rounds left in the league, the point gap between Chelsea and Manchester United is six points. Only by winning Nottingham Forest can they maintain the pressure on Manchester United and hope to make a comeback at the last moment.

What would happen if Mourinho couldn't score three points?

fly into a rage?

Walk away with a sullen face?

Twain is now looking forward to the match against Chelsea, especially looking forward to meeting his "old friend" Mourinho.

※ ※ ※

Stamford Bridge was packed, as is the case for every Chelsea-Nottingham Forest game. Due to the "personal grievances" between the two head coaches, the confrontation between the two teams will attract the attention of a lot of media and fans.

They want to see two head coaches go head-to-head on the field, on the sidelines, in and out of games. After Ferguson and Wenger, the media were delighted to see another pair in the Premier League—before they were worried that if Ferguson retired, there would still be gossip to report and hype, but now they don't have to worry about it.

Before the game, some reporters maliciously mentioned the embarrassing record to Mourinho - since he coached Chelsea, he still maintained an "unbeaten" record against Tony Twain's Nottingham Forest.

This made Mourinho so angry that he darkened his face at the time and tried to refuse to answer the question.

Of course the media would love to see him unhappy, but if he really doesn't answer this question, the media will not get any valuable information, so they do everything possible to hope that he will answer this question.

In the end, when he was cornered, Mourinho said with a gloomy face: "I never cared about those records...Arsenal created a record of forty-nine consecutive unbeaten games. Did they finally win the championship trophy of that season?" I don’t deny that my team has not defeated his team, but you also cannot deny that the league champion in the past two seasons is Chelsea, not Nottingham Forest. Of course, you can change the question, go to Ask Tony Twain—you ask him why his team can remain unbeaten against Chelsea, but can't even win a championship?"

These words are really poisonous, he cleverly changed the focus of the reporter's attention.

Which is more important, maintaining an undefeated record or winning a championship? Any fool can see it.

As a fan of Nottingham Forest and a reporter from Nottingham, Pierce Bruce felt the need to discourage this man, and he stepped forward: "But, Mr Mourinho. The head coach of the team that people are optimistic about, Tony Twain has done enough in the past two seasons..."

Mourinho interrupted him, nodded and said: "Yes, almost won the league championship, almost won the Champions League... Unfortunately, in my football creed, 'almost' equals failure."

These words made Pierce Bruce speechless. The championship is the only criterion for measuring success in professional football. Mourinho insisted on the "champion". For the Forest team that did not win the championship, it must be admitted that they are inferior to Chelsea.

Bruce is not a character who is good at talking and debating with others, and he lost the battle a little resentfully.

Things hadn't started yet. Mourinho left the interview area after saying this. A few minutes later, the media waited for Twain who had just got off the car.

Someone relayed Mourinho's words to Dunn, hoping to see Tang En's reaction.

Tang En listened to the reporter's report very seriously, but nodded and laughed: "Mourinho's words are very interesting, almost won the league championship, almost won the Champions League championship, this is a good way for losers to hide their failures Words. I am delighted to play Chelsea at this time because we have the honor of giving Mr Mourinho 'almost' the title at the end of the season."

After saying this, he smiled and waved goodbye to other reporters, and quickly entered the visiting team's locker room.

Bruce looked at Tang En's back, and sighed in his heart: It turns out that there is no need to do something like fighting an injustice. There is a more powerful character here.

※ ※ ※

When the players returned from warming up on the field, Twain had already been waiting in the locker room for a long time.

"Defense." After everyone quieted down, he clapped his hands and said, "If we want to use offense to fight Chelsea here, believe me, guys, it must be our 'death battle'. Let me give you a brief analysis Situation, Chelsea now desperately need a victory and three points to catch up with Manchester United. With eight rounds left in the league, theoretically they better win every game, otherwise six points is not a small gap. This game we just need to draw with Chelsea , It must be a big blow to Mourinho. At the same time, defending away is a safe strategy. But don’t let it go if you have a chance to score.” Tang En shook his finger, “One ball may be enough Subvert everything. But I want you to remember that in any situation, defense comes first, make sure we don't concede the ball, and then think about how to score their goals!"

Just as Tang En said in the locker room, Mourinho must win this game. For this reason, he dispatched the strongest attacking lineup at home, Drogba, Shevchenko, Ballack, Lampard... All the offensive players that can be dispatched are in full battle.

In response to this situation, Twain used the 451 defensive counterattack lineup to deal with it.

Using five midfielders is to deal with Chelsea's "world-class" midfielder.

The actual effect is not bad, most of the time of the game, both sides are doing tug-of-war in the midfield. Forest's tight defense and utterly shameless rogue style of play made Chelsea miserable. Mistakes on both sides are increasing. Often, the Forest team makes a mistake and loses the ball. After Chelsea gets the ball, they make another pass error and return the football.

The Forest team is not afraid of making mistakes, but Chelsea can't afford to make mistakes. They are wasting their offensive opportunities.

The game scene was a mess, and neither side had any high-quality offense. The Forest team didn't intend to have any high-quality offense at all, and used beautiful cooperation to pass the football into Chelsea's goal. Chelsea really wanted to play a high-quality offense, but they were always stopped by Forest's destructive play at critical moments.

The game time was consumed like this.

Of course, it was not without chances. Chelsea created three of the most threatening chances in the game, especially the one before the end of the game. After a series of amazing cooperation, Chelsea successfully tore through Forest's defense. , but Drogba's last kick was too high for power and was higher than the crossbar. That time Mourinho was so angry that he almost threw his suit on the ground. After seeing the football flying out, Tang En let out a long breath and leaned back on the chair, not wanting to get up. If you let the opponent score at the last moment, your team's 90 minutes of hard work will be in vain.

Ninety minutes later, looking at the 0:0 on the scoreboard and listening to the final whistle, Mourinho's face was as cold as the South Pole.

Tang En, who is a bit like "survival after a catastrophe", smiled like a spring breeze. He took the initiative to reach out and walked in front of Mourinho: "My friends, you almost beat us." He deliberately highlighted the "almost" word. "It's a pity, only almost."

Mourinho didn't want Tang En to be too complacent. He also knew that a frustrated or angry face was what that bastard wanted to see the most, so he absolutely couldn't let him get his wish.

So he forced a smile: "There are still seven rounds left in the league, Mr. Tang En. But one thing is certain, do you want to hear it?"

Tang En made a gesture of all ears.

"My team still has a chance to fight for the championship, and your team will not even have the chance of 'almost winning the league'."

Twain's face changed when he said this, but he quickly returned to normal, and smiled at Mourinho: "Then I wish your team good luck, and strive to 'almost win the league championship' as soon as possible."

Next, the two people with unfriendly faces let go of each other's hands at the same time, turned and left the court.

Bruce shook his head slightly when he saw this scene from the side. The two of them...

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