Chapter 928: Volume 7: Heart of the Lion King, New Captain of the Three Lions Legion

The Sun newspaper decided to disclose the conflict between Tang En and Wood, in order to seize the opportunity in the increasingly fierce news war. The media at Stamford Bridge are more concerned about whether their Terry can keep the captain's armband of the England national team.

According to the usual practice, after each new head coach comes to power, he will announce the captain candidate when the team officially assembles. Some coaches will choose to continue the captain and deputy captain of the previous national team in order to stabilize the team, but many coaches will re-select their preferred or more suitable captain.

For example, after Beckham resigned, John Terry became the captain of the England team, and Gerrard became the vice-captain.

The Liverpool media are also concerned about who will get the captain's armband. They hoped that Dunn could help Gerald right.

The local media in Nottingham Forest are cheering for George Wood.

In fact, in terms of qualifications and influence, Wood is the least dominant candidate. Most neutral media believe that Terry and Gerrard should continue to serve as the captain and deputy captain of the team. After all, if Tang En wanted to keep his team stable, then the sensitive position of captain should not be changed.

In fact, Twain was indeed very cautious in dealing with the captain issue. Both Terry and Gerrard were quite influential figures in English football. If they were not careful, big trouble might happen.

He decided to talk to Terry and Gerrard.

Both Terry and Gerrard expressed to Dunn their desire to continue to be team captains during their conversations. They believed that it was a great honor to be able to wear the captain's armband of the national team.

Tang En could understand this idea, but he couldn't support it.

Because after he came to power, he had to be completely overthrown and rebuilt. The previous England national team can no longer be used - including the captain.

In other words, in the national team, it is time to "change the dynasty".

Tang En wanted to re-establish an order, so replacing the captain was the first step.

He told these two of his ideas, frankly, they are a bit old, and he needs someone who can serve as the captain of the team for a long time.

Both Terry and Gerrard knew what the new head coach was going to do.

Being taken off the captain's armband will definitely make them dissatisfied. However, in England, the long-standing tradition is that the head coach is the biggest, and no one dares to confront the head coach, even in the national team. It is often seen that players are closely united around the head coach and against the FA.

If it were in another country, Twain's series of actions would have put him in the quagmire of repeated dismissals, not to mention his achievements in leading the team, let alone coaching the national team.

Twain hopes that Terry and Gerrard, as veteran national team players, can set an example for the stability of the team.

It's all here, so what if you don't accept it? Quit the national team in a rage? Although in terms of age, it has not been a few years since they bid farewell to the national team, it is obvious that neither of these two people wants to leave in such a disgraceful way. Tony Twain did have the ability to win the championship, and the England national team had achieved nothing for many years. They also hoped to fulfill their long-cherished wish with this head coach who was destined for the championship trophy.

Having won twelve championship trophies in eleven years, Tony Twain is indeed qualified to be strong in front of them.

So both of them said they would obey the head coach's arrangement.

The biggest resistance was settled, and Dunn let out a sigh of relief.

If it wasn't for the stability within the team, he wouldn't be in such trouble. As for what the media said, he doesn't care, as long as the players understand him and know what's going on, that's enough.

※ ※ ※

The training session in the afternoon was the first training session in England where all the players were present. Before the training session started, Twain would announce the new captain and deputy captain of the team.

Terry and Gerrard's expressions were a little abnormal, and their eyes flickered as if they were hiding from others. They already knew in advance that the captain's armband would be lost.

And George Wood, who knew nothing about it, was summoned by the assistant coach after completing the warm-up, and waited for Twain to give a lecture.

It was a sunny afternoon, and Tang En came out wearing his pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses.

"Good afternoon, guys. I hope you all took a good nap. Because the training in the afternoon is not easy." Dunn raised his hand to greet everyone, and then he walked into the crowd and stood in the middle of the circle.

"According to the usual practice, we have to announce the candidates for the captain and vice-captain of the new national team."

Chelsea's players turned to look at Terry, Liverpool's looked at Gerrard, and Forest's players naturally looked at Wood in unison.

Players from other clubs are not very interested in this, and it will definitely not fall on them anyway. By default, these three are the most qualified to be captains. Terry is the old captain of England. Since 2006 until now, he has been the captain for eight years, and his achievements are in everyone's eyes. Gerrard has always been the vice-captain. He wore the captain's armband when Terry was absent. He is recognized as the most leadership English player. Liverpool's media has always believed that he is more qualified to be the captain than Terry. George Wood is the captain of the most successful team in England in recent years. He is also recognized as the most masculine English player and a model for all English professional players.

However, George Wood's advantage is that he is younger. He is 28 years old this year, which is his golden age.

Tang En looked at everyone's reactions, and they were all in his expectation. If he doesn't find Terry and Gerrard at the beginning, then he will bear the risk after the result is announced. It's all right now, he knows that the two people support him, and he has nothing to fear.

"George Wood and John Terry will serve as the team's captains and vice-captains." Dunn simply but clearly threw out the candidates.

There was a small commotion in the team. Disappointment was evident on the faces of the Liverpool people, and the Chelsea camp was also a little surprised because their captain turned into a vice-captain.

It was Nottingham Forest who first gave the applause to congratulate the new captain.

Then no matter what everyone was thinking at this moment, everyone applauded and congratulated George Wood and John Terry.

Gerrard was a little disappointed because he didn't even keep the vice-captain. But who made him the oldest of the three? He was thirty-four, and Terry wasn't thirty-four until the end of the year. It is always easy for a central defender to play longer than a midfielder. Even if they can't run anymore, the head coach still hopes to rely on the experience of an old central defender. Look how long Cannavaro has played in Italy? Thirty-seven years old and still representing Italy in the World Cup in South Africa! And it is really difficult for each team's midfielder to find a veteran who is over 35 years old.

Gerrard worked hard to stay in shape, just not wanting to be kicked out of the national team prematurely. Because he knew that there was a large group of excellent players chasing behind him, and George Wood was one of the best.

To be honest, Gerrard is not jealous of Wood getting the captain's armband. It is normal for two people to have a "sympathetic" relationship during the years of confrontation in the Premier League, not to mention that Wood is indeed excellent.

The one who was surprised was Wood himself. There was a rare and obvious expression change on his face - he opened his mouth wide and looked at Tang En in disbelief.

Tang En looked at him with a smile. It was the first time in a long time that he saw Wood's true emotions, even if it was just a surprise. He is very happy.

"George." He called Wood's name, beckoning him to come forward to accept the captain's armband.

Wood walked out of the crowd a little stiffly, and he hadn't reacted yet. The Forest players clapped their hands hard behind their backs, then whistled and cheered.

Tang En pulled Wood to his side and said to the players: "I must explain to you why I chose George. In the summer transfer period that just passed, there were the most rumors about George Wood's transfer in England. The Forest team is in a quagmire, and their standard-bearer is being seduced by countless giants. But in the end we saw that George chose to stay in the Forest team, and proved with practical actions that there is still 'loyalty' in today's football."

Speaking of the things about Nottingham Forest, Twain's tone was calm as if he was talking about a team that had absolutely nothing to do with him.

"As a player who has been the captain of Nottingham Forest for seven years, I think he is fully capable and qualified to be the captain of England. I am very grateful to John and Stephen for everything they have contributed and their understanding of this decision." Ry and Gerald. So the Chelsea and Liverpool players understood that Twain had dealt with them alone.

The two forced a smile on their faces. In this way, the captain's armband was lifted. Who made Wood and Twain spend the longest time together? Who told Dunn to be optimistic about Wood? People said that Tony Twain was George Wood's father, and his father became the head coach of the national team. How could his son not have any special treatment?

In fact, Tang En's doing so was tantamount to putting pressure on Wood - everyone knew the close relationship between him and himself, even if there were rumors that the two had conflicts recently. He couldn't stop the outside world from speculating that Wood became the captain of the Three Lions because of his special concern.

However, Twain believed in Wood's ability to withstand pressure. The pressure in Nottingham Forest was no less than that in England. Moreover, Wood is also called "St. George" by England fans. These are conditions that are conducive to Wood being the captain.

Twain did not want to deny his plan to build the New England team with Wood as the core. Making George Wood the new captain was only the first step. He would gradually implement these plans in the following games. Those familiar faces in the past may slowly fade away, and the time for a new generation has come.

He wants to build an England team that is completely his own, clean up the traces left by his predecessor, and let this team completely listen to him and play for him. Only in this way can he have the confidence to win the European Cup.

After explaining the reason, Dunn personally put the captain's armband on Wood, and then patted his left arm wearing the armband.

"But let me remind you, George. This armband is not permanent. Once your performance fails to meet my requirements and you cannot take on the responsibility of a captain, I will take it off without hesitation." He pointed out Armband.

Wood didn't answer him.

"Let's start training!"

Tang En handed over the stage to the assistant coach and other coaches. He stepped back to the sidelines.

The teammates of the Forest team stepped forward to congratulate Wood, and Wood's response was very flat. Terry and Gerrard also stepped forward to congratulate him, so the others followed and patted Wood on the shoulder and head. The atmosphere looks very harmonious.

Tang En knew that this was a difficult challenge for himself and Wood.

Wood is the captain of the Forest team, thanks to Albertini's precepts and deeds, and his own attention, thus gradually establishing the fact that he is the captain of the Forest team. After long-term contact with the teammates, they were also infected by Wood's taciturn but action-speaking style, and they sincerely accepted the captain.

England's situation is different. As a national team, these people are improvised, and it is impossible for them to get to know each other for a long time. In the past, Wood's most personal impression in the national team was that he was not very gregarious and reticent. Such a person became the captain of the national team, and without any over-preparation, he was forced into the position by Tang En. In the future, he will need to perform better than before to prove that he is worthy of being the captain.

But it seems that Wood is not as happy as others imagined... He has been accepting congratulations from his teammates with a dumb face.

After the training mood is not high.

However, Dunn still noticed one thing - he always completed every training subject with the utmost earnestness and effort, which was even better than what he had done in the forest team before.

Tang En raised the corner of his mouth.

※ ※ ※

After the afternoon training, Dunn stood among the crowd, analyzed the gains and shortcomings of the day's training, praised some people, and criticized some people.

Then the team disbanded, but he asked Wood to stay alone.

This seems to be a very normal move. The new head coach and the new captain must communicate in order to manage the team well.

But Wood himself was clear about why Tang En left him alone—this was entirely his intuition.

After everyone left, the Kearney training base fell into twilight. The woods in the distance swayed gently in the breeze, bringing coolness slowly, reducing the high temperature of the day here.

People's mood seems to become more comfortable with the coolness for a while.

The surrounding area of ​​the training ground is very quiet, only the occasional birdsong in the woods in the distance.

Wood stood on the court, and Twain stood on the outside, with a distance of about 20 meters between the two.

Tang En took a step forward, and Wood took a step back.

Tang En thought it was a coincidence at first, so he stopped for a while and continued to walk forward, one step, two steps, three steps.

Wood also stepped back quickly, one step, two steps, three steps.

Tang En saw the clue, he stood still and spread his hands and asked loudly: "Are we repelling same-sex people?"

Wood stood on the training ground in the twilight, silent.

Tang En walked a few steps quickly, and Wood took a few steps back. Tang En started running, and Wood turned and fled.

The two chased after each other on the empty training ground. It looks like a life-and-death chase on the African savannah. It stands to reason that the prey should be in front and the hunter behind. But no matter how you look at this scene, it looks like the prey is chasing the hunter... The rabbit is running out of breath, and the cheetah still has the leisure to look back to see how far the opponent is from itself.

After running half the field, the 46-year-old Tang En couldn't hold on anymore and was defeated. He put his hands on his knees, leaned over and panted heavily.

Seeing that he stopped chasing him, Wood stopped and looked this way from afar.

Tang En suddenly stood up, and Wood thought he was going to chase again, so he turned sideways and planned to run. Unexpectedly, Tang En just yelled: "Go to you, uncle!!"