Chapter 636: Volume 5, Red Returns to the Team

Over there, the draft finals of "Soccer Boy" in China were in full swing, and over here, Tony Twain was not idle either.

In January, he went to the draw ceremony for the second knockout stage of the Champions Cup. As a result, he once again proved his assumption that the draw was artificially manipulated within UEFA-his team was drawn together with AC Milan in the quarter-finals...

The Italian media excitedly clamored that Nottingham Forest would be repaid tenfold.

What can I give back...

Some media even couldn't wait to imitate Tang En's tone when he led his team to beat Barcelona last season and said: "...we lost last May, this time we have to find Nottingham Forest to win it back!"

Yes, the last champion Nottingham Forest defeated their opponents in the final of the last Champions Cup, and thus won the last championship with unstoppable momentum. Now it is also possible for AC Milan to repeat the scene of last season, defeat their opponents in the final, and then make it all the way to the final and lift the European Champions Cup.

After the lottery was drawn, Tang En was surrounded by reporters, and he must be asked to talk about his views on this opponent.

Everyone wanted to see Tang En give a crazy speech, and then provoke a war of words between the two sides. This is what the media likes the most. But Tang En is an awkward person by nature, he won't let most people get what they want.

"There is nothing to talk about. AC Milan is a strong team. It is normal for anyone to win and lose. Of course, I don't want to lose. I believe Mr. Ancelotti also has an idea. So that's it... the defending champion ? This argument is meaningless. Apart from making us a target, can the last champion get any benefits?" Tang En shrugged, "Look at the results of the lottery, obviously not."

In the end, he still didn't live up to the soaring grievances against UEFA.

Yes, meeting such a strong opponent in the quarter-finals is indeed very difficult for the team in future games. And this time they are the host first and then the guest. In the past two years, they were the guest first and then the host. The advantage of the guest first and then the host is that you don’t have to play all the cards in your hand at once, leaving behind players to deal with your opponents after returning to your home court in the second round. For a coach like Twain who likes to defend, this is the most suitable schedule: in the first round, rely on defensive counterattacks in the away game to achieve the results he wants - even if it is a draw, it doesn't matter, it would be even better if he could win , even if you lose, you won't lose too much. Then wait until the second round to take advantage of the home field, and then decide on specific countermeasures based on the results of the first round.

If the host comes first and then the guest, it is tantamount to handing over the initiative to the opponent. In case something unexpected happened in the first round, the away game in the second round might be exhausting...

Dunn didn't like the feeling of losing control.

What's more, AC Milan is indeed a strong team.

Although Tang En appeared arrogant and arrogant on the surface, in his heart, he never underestimated opponents who should not be underestimated.

His coaching staff should start to seriously study the strengths and weaknesses of AC Milan today, and find countermeasures from them.

Fortunately, Don came back.

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Tang En was relieved that Tang came back on time. The Champions League is about to start, and several teams in the league are very tight. If there is an accident at this time, the hard work of more than half a season may be in vain.

Today's Nottingham Forest is highly anticipated by the people. Victory and championships seem to be a matter of course for them. Tang En has a heavy burden on his shoulders and a lot of pressure on his head.

And with Tang by his side, he could feel that the pressure was shared... In fact, the colleagues on the coaching staff shared this pressure, but Tang shared more because he and Tang En walked the closest.

Everyone knows that Tony likes this young man from China, and he didn't give any explanation for it. He just asked Tang to work in the youth team, and then everyone slowly saw the level hidden in this young Chinese man, and then never People have questioned whether Tang En trusted a Chinese so badly, whether it was too substandard...

The level shown by Tang is not like a young man from a country where football is backward. He's young, but he's got talent - talent as a coach.

Tang En and Tang are tired of being together all day long, which makes some outsiders wonder if these two are gay—after all, they haven’t had a public girlfriend or lover yet—but the people in the forest team know it, Tang En and Tang are only together because of work, and Tang En is an Englishman who loves Chinese culture, and Tang happens to be a Chinese.

How many of the multiple sets of tactics used by the Forest team were designed by Tang? No one knows, and it doesn't matter anyway. All you need to know is Tang's status in this club - he is the person Tony Twain trusts the most.

After letting Tang En finish reading the story about the young man named Chen Jian, Tang En and Tang En started their normal work.

The few Chinese young players selected through the draft will not come until March. Before that, there is nothing that Twain needs to worry about—in fact, even if he comes, he has nothing to do. Go meet a few lucky people, say a few nice words of encouragement, and maybe not see one again for months. According to the agreement, these young Chinese players will be sent to the youth team of Nottingham Forest, assigned to different age groups, and followed by training.

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In addition to Tang's return, Tang En was in a good mood because of the return of another person.

Pepe received a certificate of permission to play from the medical team. He could proudly return to Tang En's side and confidently request to play in the next league match.

Just like last season, after he was injured, the matter of when he would return to the court was like a ball being kicked back and forth between the team's head coach Tony Twain and team medical chief Fleming.

Tang En insisted that Pepe would be considered for re-entering the squad only after the team doctor issued a written certificate.

Fleming told Pepe that it was up to Dunn whether he could write the written proof.

In the end, Tang En and Fleming studied Pepe's physical examination report together, and after conducting various tests on him, they believed that Pepe's physical condition had returned to the level it was before. Only then did Fleming give Pepe a written certificate.

Seeing Pepe's smiling face, Tang En was actually very happy. For more than three seasons, Pepe has already become the well-deserved core of the Forest team's defense. He is the unstoppable main force on the back line. His talent and talent have been maximized under Twain, a head coach who values ​​defense. excavation.

Excellent physical fitness, speed and explosiveness not inferior to strikers, ability to predict in advance, calm and self-confidence in one-on-one, decisive when shooting, coupled with the various honors won by the Forest team, has made him an excellent player. One of the best central defenders in the world.

At this moment, Nottingham Forest's defense is also in need of Pepe's return. So seeing Pepe returning triumphantly, Tang En couldn't hold back the smile on his face, and the ferocity he had put on with a straight face disappeared.

"Okay." Seeing Pepe running over, he pointed to the training ground.

"See there, Pepe?"

Although he didn't know why Dunn asked him to watch the training ground, Pepe obediently turned his head to look over, and nodded: "I saw it, boss."

"The weeds there...they're almost as tall as a person."

Hearing what Tang En said, the smile on Pepe's face grew stronger. He had already got the answer from the boss, so he didn't need to ask any more.

After coming to England from Portugal, due to the use of the club's "special talent clause" quota once a season, the media was skeptical about this unknown kid at first. The precious "Special Genius Clause" quota is really wasted.

But soon Pepe used his performance to conquer the critical English media.

No one criticized him for being a parallel importer anymore, and the "Sun" even gave him a nickname-"Lawnmower".

Tang En had heard of this nickname before time travel, but the meaning of that was different from this one. In the world before crossing, Pepe got this nickname when he played in Portugal. Because the team is used to playing three central defenders, he needs to undertake more and faster "mowing" work.

Now that he has become famous in England, the "Sun" gave him this nickname out of a more vivid metaphor. Pepe's performance on the court was like a tireless lawnmower, cleaning up the Forest team's defense area without any weeds.

Therefore, when Tang En said this now, Pepe knew that he agreed to return to the game.

"Shouldn't you say something else, boss?"

"What else do you want to say?" Tang En laughed, "Go to training. Be careful not to hurt your feet because of excitement. Besides, I'm glad you're back in the team."

Pepe responded, turned and ran to the training ground.

For Twain, Pepe's return was the best news he had heard recently, and the current Forest team really needed Pepe. The reason why he was so obsessed with making sure that Pepe was fully recovered before he could return to the game was that Tang En was frightened by Pepe's injuries during the winter of these two seasons. He doesn't want a defensive genius he dug out to become an out-and-out "glass man" because of frequent injuries. As a defender, your technical awareness is the best in the world, but if your body can't keep up and you are constantly injured, the world's top skills and awareness are useless and useless.

Tang En was afraid that Pepe would become the second Nesta, so he was so cautious.

When Pepe was frequently injured, Dunn would worry about his knee when he saw Pepe suddenly stop suddenly while running on the sidelines of the training ground. Fortunately, the days of fear are over...

The central defender with the best physical fitness in FM2007 is not a fiction made by the game developer SI team. As a partner of the Forest team, they have the advantage of "being close to the water first". In the game, Nottingham Forest's player data is the closest real level.

In a league with intense physical contact like the Premier League, Pepe has rarely been at a disadvantage in many direct confrontations with opponents.

With an excellent defender like Pepe and a defensive monster like George Wood, it is not a castle in the sky that the Forest team can achieve such brilliant results in three years. Twain proved to the world that in today's football, if one wants to win the championship, defense is really the primary factor. No matter how sharp your offense is, how strong your midfield is, without a solid defense, these are false. Defense is the foundation of a team, the foundation of offense and midfield. Without this foundation, no matter how beautiful and artistic the offense is, it is a real castle in the air.

Just look at the state of Barcelona this season... After the half-time league, they were led by seven points by the more pragmatic Real Madrid, and lost the most crucial national derby at home. Rijkaard is proud of the art of football, offensive football has long been a thing of the past.

As a fan, Twain likes to watch beautiful football, but as a head coach, he will never sacrifice the team's performance to pursue the illusory "artistic football" - he is very clear about "work" and "personal interest" The difference between the two.

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Tang and Pepe's first game back was very close. On February 9th, in the twenty-sixth round of the league, Nottingham Forest challenged Sunderland away.

Same opponent, same away game, but completely different from the FA Cup in January. Tang En will not use the second-tier team to make up for it, nor will he deal with Sunderland with the mentality of training soldiers. Likewise, Sunderland manager Roy Keane does not think it is Nottingham Forest who can "find confidence" in his players these days.

He has set up a tight defensive formation on his home court, intending to use his defense in exchange for even one point.

If it had been a season earlier, his tactics might have really succeeded.

This time, no.

Nottingham Forest's offense is no longer a "counterattack" that simply relies on two flankers to quickly break through and hit the opponent's back. They have many masters of positional warfare and they are not afraid of their opponents and their defense.

Sunderland lost 1:2 at home.

Nottingham Forest scored three points as they wished, and surpassed Manchester United, which lost the "Manchester Derby" in this round, with the victory of this game. Sixty points, temporarily at the top of the list.

Pepe came off the bench in the second half of the game, replacing Ayala. Sunderland's only goal happened after that. He and his teammates who had been out of battle for a long time did not cooperate well enough, allowing the opponent to seize the opportunity to score a goal. This ball once gave Sunderland hope. Fortunately, Pepe quickly adapted to the rhythm and guarded the middle with Wood and Piqué. With Dunn's timely adjustment, he defended the three points.

Through the final performance of this game, Tang En felt that Pepe's state was not very stable yet, and further adjustments were needed through training.

The good news is they still have plenty of time.

The next round of the league will not resume until February 23rd, and the first round of the Champions League quarter-finals will have to wait until February 19th. This period of time is the international match day of each national team.

Anyway, Pepe's injury has healed, and Twain won't feel that there is anything wrong with playing for the country. What's more, what Pepe needs now is not rest, but more games, so as to find the rhythm and feeling of the game as soon as possible. It is better to use the national team competition as a "testing field" than risk Nottingham Forest's results in the league and Champions League...

In the game against AC Milan at home, defense is still the key, and the comeback defensive core Pepe is the key to the key. His performance will directly affect the results of the forest team.

Twain hoped that in the match against AC Milan, he could harvest a sufficiently good "lawnmower".

He wants to cut AC Milan's legs with his impregnable defense and fierce counterattack.