Chapter 653: Volume 5, Red, Fierce Competition
With the excitement and joy of sitting on the throne of the league, the Nottingham Forest team flew to Barcelona to prepare for the match against the La Liga giants Barcelona.
Barcelona fans have not forgotten Tony Twain's arrogant performance against Barcelona in the Champions League final, nor have they forgotten the hatred for Nottingham Forest's elimination of them.
Now they have the opportunity to return to Nottingham Forest all the resentment accumulated over the past two years.
The above are all imagined by Barcelona fans themselves, and Barcelona players may not necessarily think so.
This is Rijkaard's last chance to save himself. He was empty-handed in two seasons and was firmly suppressed by rival Real Madrid. This season he even lost the first round of the battle of the century at Camp Nou. The league championship is basically hopeless , the reason for the hopelessness is not that Real Madrid is too strong, but that they are not up to date. The Copa del Rey is out, and only the Champions League has entered the semi-finals. If you can win the Big Ears Cup in the end, then all the failures of this season will be nothing, and the shame of being defeated by Real Madrid at the Nou Camp will soon be drowned in the victory in the ocean of joy.
But... Facing Nottingham Forest, Rijkaard was helpless. Because he didn't have a good card in his hand.
Under normal circumstances, when a strong enemy comes, the team should share the same hatred, unite as one, and actively prepare for defeating the opponent.
But today's Barcelona is not. The Catalan media was all about Ronaldinho's dressing room enemies, or Eto'o's troublesome mouth, and a weak Rijkaard losing control of the dressing room, May West and Ronaldinho, who is the core that Barcelona really needs, whether Henry is worth buying, Rijkaard's successor Mourinho... etc., it seems lively, readers and audience Every day sees new gimmicks, but nothing more about the game -- no, there is. The battle between Messi and Ronaldinho who is the core that Barcelona should trust mentioned that Messi is injured and he will miss the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Nottingham Forest...
This is really a great irony.
Tang En, his coaching staff, and the whole team have made the most meticulous preparations and dare not take it lightly. But when they came, they found that their opponents were all focused on internal friction, and they didn't take their enemy seriously at all.
So he is not afraid of the current Barcelona team.
The day before the game, Puyol came out and said we had to beat Nottingham Forest at home because it was the Champions League semi-final. After seeing this report in the hotel room, Tang En said to Tang sarcastically, "Did they just know that this is the semi-final of the Champions Cup?"
Twain attaches great importance to team unity and a harmonious atmosphere in the locker room. He has been taught by the boss, but he knows the truth that "fortresses are easiest to break from the inside". Apart from hard work up and down, Nottingham Forest's achievements depend on unity. The failure of Real Madrid in the past few years and the degeneration of Barcelona today are due to their split.
So he absolutely will not allow the farce that is happening to Barcelona now, it will happen to him in the future.
Take history as a mirror and take it as a warning...
※ ※ ※
Puyol stood up to speak as the captain, with little effect. The interior of Barcelona has long been divided. Even if he is the captain, not everyone will listen to him.
The game at Camp Nou was very, very... boring.
Defensive counterattack is naturally Twain's first choice in important and crucial games, and Barcelona did not show a high level of offense. Messi's injury and absence has indeed had a great impact on the team. And Ronaldinho once again sat on the bench - he has not sat on the bench a few times in Barcelona for more than four seasons, and the number of times he sat on this season far exceeded the previous four seasons.
Although Rijkaard has never publicly criticized Ronaldinho, he always said that he trusts the Brazilian, but every time he puts him on the bench, this attitude is worth studying... In addition, from the perspective of tactics On the other hand, Ronaldinho has changed from a "phenomenon" in Barcelona to a "tumor". His state is very bad, too many balls will lead to too many mistakes. The speed of offense is not as fast as when Messi is on the field. If he and Messi are on the field at the same time, they will affect and interfere with each other. So in the game where Ronaldinho was diagnosed, Barcelona's results were very good, but when he played, Barcelona either lost or tied.
At the beginning, some people in the Catalan media shouted, "Why didn't you let Ronaldinho play? He was always said to be injured, but in fact he has no problems at all", and then the voice gradually disappeared.
In this game, Ronaldinho sat in the back row of the bench, surrounded by people around him, but he looked very lonely. The only good friend Messi is recuperating at home, preparing for the second round of the game, and what about him? The second leg may not even be taken to England.
Barcelona's offense was relatively chaotic, but Nottingham Forest still couldn't hold on to it, and very few troops were invested in the counterattack, as if they were afraid of being caught off guard after being cut off.
Is such a game satisfying? There were boos at the Camp Nou, not for one team, but for both sides. They expressed deep dissatisfaction with Barcelona's weak attack, but they did not forget that Nottingham Forest was their enemy.
In 90 minutes, both sides failed to score a single goal, and the scene was so dull that many TV viewers who originally wanted to watch "Mars hit the Earth" had to lament that they had wasted an evening. As for those Far East fans who stay up late to watch the game... the posts criticizing Barcelona for "not thinking ahead" and Nottingham Forest for "habitually passive and conservative" are almost flooding the Internet, right?
However, Twain can't control the feelings of these people. He left Camp Nou and the beautiful city of Barcelona with a smile. Because he got the result he wanted before the game: a draw, no goals conceded, and consumed Barcelona's home court advantage.
If you can score a goal, you earn it, and if you don't earn it, it's not bad.
※ ※ ※
Returning to the number one spot in the league, and getting out of the away game in the first round of the Champions League semi-final, these are all things that make Dunn happy. As the end of the game draws near, his mood has been wandering back and forth between peaks and troughs - when he was tied at home by AC Milan, his chest was tight, when he lost to Blackburn he yelled, and the next day he had to Apologize to the whole team, because after all, he has to rely on these people to win the country. When he won the game against Tottenham, he praised the whole team, and he was not stingy with his words; when Blackburn drew with Manchester United, he excitedly invited everyone in the bar to drink and revel.
For him, every minute and every second of his life is spent in great joy or great sorrow. When there is neither great joy nor great sorrow, he is always nervous and dare not relax for a moment. There is no such thing as a "smooth transition" at all.
Never has he been more nervous than this season. At the last moment, the two champions have something to play, but they are not secure. In the end, they may win the double crown, or they may be empty-handed and make wedding dresses for others.
Back in Nottingham, the team didn't even have half a day's rest, and they were about to start preparing for the thirty-sixth round of the league against Reading at home.
The time is very close, just two days away. For Tony Twain and his team, this game must be won, and a tie is a failure.
Manchester United has been cornered. In the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, they were tied 1:1 by Chelsea at home. Ferguson's roar will continue. In the thirty-sixth round of the league, what a coincidence, what a coincidence, their opponent is still... Chelsea. In this game, no matter what method is used, Ferguson will not allow his team to lose to Chelsea again, even if it is their away game, even if this league is over, it will be followed by the second round of the Champions League semi-final against Chelsea .
Manchester United will definitely smash Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. This game is an excellent opportunity for Nottingham Forest to continue to take the lead. No matter who wins or loses between Manchester United and Chelsea, Nottingham Forest can benefit from the left hand - if Chelsea wins, Nottingham Forest will reap the benefits on the league battlefield; if Manchester United wins, Nottingham Forest will reap the benefits on the Champions League battlefield.
Godsend. Such words can only be used to describe the significance of the thirty-sixth round of the league to Nottingham Forest.
"So we must win!" At the end of the tactical planning meeting on the last day before the game, Twain set the tone for the game.
※ ※ ※
One day later, the city stadium was full of seats, and thousands of flags were fluttering in the stands that could accommodate up to 30,000 people, and there was a great crowd of people. All the fans of the Forest team have long known the situation of the teams in this round of the league, which is the most beneficial to the Forest team-the enemy is weak, and the competitors are deadly. As long as they win one hand, they will be able to touch the handle of the championship trophy.
Everyone wants to see this historic moment - Nottingham Forest Club has only won one top league championship in history, that is the League One champion in the era of Brian Clough. They took advantage of this championship to win two It is the only team in the history of the Champions Cup that has only won the top domestic league once, but has won the Champions Cup twice. So if the Forest team can finally win the league championship this season, it can really be called making history again.
When the Forest players played, they received a tsunami of cheers from the stands-this is the function of the city stadium as a home field, but today it is extraordinarily explosive. The Forest supporters also hoped to put extra pressure on the visiting Reading in this way, so that they were at a loss and raised their hands in surrender.
Tony Twain was like a head of state, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, standing on a tall city tower, proudly reviewing the troops passing in front of him, and enjoying the huge cheers and praise of his subjects from the stands. The pinnacle of his coaching career...is just around the corner.
Of course, there is another person who feels the same as him, and that is the club owner Evan Dalgety standing in the VIP box above. He is the one who should really enjoy the feeling of the emperor, because he is the real owner of this club, Tony Twain? It's just a wage earner, a little more advanced.
At this moment, the great excitement of the coming of glory hit the brain of this senior wage earner, making his facial nerves uncontrollable, and there was an obvious smile on the corner of his mouth. In the eyes of outsiders, he was not standing on the sidelines before the game, but on the sidelines after the game. As a result, his team naturally won a big victory.
The tactics are right, and the enemy's strength is not strong. There is no reason for this game to go wrong.
In the focus battle that just ended, Manchester United made a strong away game and won Chelsea 2:1 at the cost of a red card, temporarily surpassing Nottingham Forest in the standings, leading by two points. However, Tang En believed that after the current game was over, he would still be the leader, no more, no less, just one point.
When the players of both sides stood in formation in their respective halfs and the referee stood outside the center circle with his whistle in his mouth, the city stadium, which had been noisy for a long time, suddenly fell silent. This kind of quietness caused Tang En to have an illusion. He looked back at the stands behind him, and he was relieved that everyone was still there.
"beep--"
※ ※ ※
One hundred and twenty minutes later, nearly half an hour had passed since the game ended.
Tony Twain sat alone in the empty coach's bench. Just as empty as the coach's bench, there were also the stands of the city stadium and the green field in front of him.
He sat there without saying a word, with neither ecstasy nor dejected expression on his face.
He didn't pay attention to the sound of footsteps coming from far and near.
"Tony." The footsteps disappeared around him, and Don's voice sounded.
"Huh?" Tang En didn't even lift his eyelids.
"Let's go back?"
"I'll sit down for a while."
"You've been sitting there for fifteen minutes."
Tang En finally moved his gaze from the court to Tang who was next to him. He didn't speak, but his eyes sent chills down Tang's spine.
Tony Twain is like a beast that is angry because of the loss of a child. He stares at you, as if he might jump up at any time and pounce on you and eat you.
He was really, really, really angry...
"You..." Tang paused, "You didn't say anything just now, and you acted very ordinary. Everyone thought you..."
"Not angry, are you?" he asked back, his voice cold.
In the past, it was Chris Rack, a rough guy, who came over to make Tang En unhappy, but today Chris Rack took the team away, and he had to live with Twain... the next door Tang En came.
"How could I not be angry?" He asked again, but this time there was no smell of gunpowder at all. "But who should I take this anger on? Just after the game, when I was questioned by a group of media at the press conference, I really wanted to rush into the locker room and scold everyone bloody. But when I thought about that After the first loss to Blackburn, I put up with it. But I didn't want to see them again, so I sent them away early. I ran here and sat here for a while, and I don't think I can get angry at them... …No, not to them. Do you know why?"
Tang En looked at Tang, and Tang also looked at him, but did not answer.
"Because I think that if we go back to the source of the scolding, the person who should be scolded the most is me. But I can't scold myself, especially in front of others." Tang En stood up from his seat. "After three days of the league, it's the semi-final of the Champions League. After three days of the semi-final of the Champions League, it's the league again. After three days of the league, it's the semi-final of the Champions League. The state of the players has fluctuated. They are too tired. .”
"If I had been bolder in this game, it might not have been the result now. I didn't rotate when I should have rotated the most. I wanted to tear Reading with the strongest lineup, but I didn't expect that it was not the decision to win the game. The strongest lineup..."
"Then I sit here thinking and thinking...all the people are gone, there is no one, and there will be no reporters who are like flies to bother me, I can think about it, and I don't have to pretend to be in front of others. I don't I was thinking about why I stumbled at this time, I just think that fate is such a wonderful thing, it will let you go to heaven for a while, and let you go to hell for a while..."
"After thinking about it, I won't be angry anymore." Tang En's eyes changed, and a smile appeared on his face again. He opened his arms and even danced a little. "I admit that my eyes and mind were blinded by the performance in front of me at the beginning. Some people may think that this result is a cruel joke made by fate. But in fact, I think this is just right, the best result!"
"I'm not fooled! What was our original plan? Whether we lead Manchester United or not, the final result will not change - always talk to them directly in the last round, decide at Old Trafford Who is the champion. Right? So, is there any point at this point in who is first and who is second? It’s good to throw the pressure of the frontrunners on the other side.”
"And." He winked at Tang, "I also thought of how to make Barcelona bow down at home. We will get the tickets for the Champions League final for the third time."
He stretched himself, "Let's go, Don, go home. It's good to have someone listen to my words, otherwise it would be uncomfortable to hold back..." He took the lead and walked towards the corridor, then stopped and looked back Don. "You know? I suddenly feel that sitting in a stadium where no one is empty, thinking about problems is a great experience. The office or my own house is too small, which constrains my thinking. This is just right." He pointed to the stadium .
"It's big enough, but not endless, otherwise I'll be distracted." Then he muttered, "Compared with the noisy stadium, I suddenly like such a quiet stadium... It's strange."
※ ※ ※
On April 26, 2008, three days before the second round of the Champions League semi-final, in the thirty-sixth round of the English Premier League in the 2007-08 season, Nottingham Forest was unexpectedly drawn by Reading at home, and neither side scored a goal.
Manchester United took this opportunity to complete the overtake and temporarily ranked... no, back to the top of the list with a one-point advantage.
For Tony Twain and Alex Ferguson, there are still two rounds before the league championship trophy, and there is still one more league round before the final round at Old Trafford. Will there be any accidents? ?
God knows.