Godfather Of Champions

Balotelli thought his position in the team should be promising, because he was rearranged to play forward, and he scored the only goal of Nottingham Forest F.C. in that lost match. He considered himself the best player on the team in that match, but of course, the media didn’t agree. One point of the game evaluation was the same among many different media people. They all agreed George Wood was the best player in Nottingham Forest F.C.

Balotelli admitted Wood’s performance was not bad, but when it came to the best of the team, he could not admit anyone was superior to him.

In addition, more importantly, he had the faith that this goal made the new manager see his value clearly. That was a brilliant goal after the breakthrough of the double team!

Upon his thinking, Dunn called him over after the training ended.

“Do you have time, Mario? I want to talk to you privately.”

Seeing the smile on the face of his manager, Balotelli became more certain of his idea. He paused deliberately to prevent himself from appearing to be overexcited. Then he nodded slowly: “Fine, I have a few minutes.”

“Come to my office.” Dunn turned and walked away.

Balotelli was dumbfounded for a moment. He didn’t expect the manager to turn and walk away so quickly. Somewhat unhappy, he followed Dunn, though at a very slow speed.

In fact, Dunn didn’t mean to put on airs in front of Balotelli. All that was on his mind was to find out how to start a conversation with the player, to make their talk more harmonious and to get the desired result.

His aim was nothing more or less but to bring out the best in Balotelli to help the team.

After he achieved that, he could focus on other details.

Balotelli felt that he did not get enough respect, and following this way of thinking, he decided that this conversation with the manager would have to be an unpleasant experience.

Nobody else was in the manager’s office except the two of them.

Dunn motioned for Balotelli to sit down and asked what he wanted to drink.

Balotelli shook his head and declined.

Dunn didn’t expect a straightforward rejection like this and felt somewhat awkward. At this time he noticed a problem. Compared to when he was in Inter Milan, Balotelli was now much fatter…

No wonder his performance was unstable.

Dunn decided to start with the goal, for goals were all forwards cared about. “Mario, your goal of the last round league was wonderful.”

Balotelli was secretly delighted upon hearing this from the manager. He finally got his worth acknowledged!

“However…” Dunn changed his tone, “Can you score such a goal often?”

Balotelli was taken aback by this question.

Under double team, he still managed to break and shoot the ball in through a gap between the defender’s two legs, bypassing the goalkeeper. He surely couldn’t score such a goal very often…

Dunn didn’t give Balotelli a chance to answer. In fact, he did not expect Balotelli to answer this question at all. The answer was obvious.

He asked another question: “Do you prefer playing right midfielder or forward?”

Balotelli said without hesitation this time: “Forward, naturally.”

Dunn smiled. This was exactly what he had anticipated. “Can you tell me your view regarding the team now?”

Balotelli’s answer was not much of a surprise. “I think I should be the core. With me as the core, the team can score many goals, and winning matches will not be a problem.”

Dunn nodded slightly and appeared to agree with Balotelli’s words. However, after hearing him out, he said, “But I’ve never used a forward as the core…”

He was telling the truth. He never considered using a forward as the core of a team since he became a manager. Whether it was Anelka, Van Nistelrooy, Eastwood, or Ľuboš Micheľ, none of them was the core of a team, and the team’s tactics had never been centered around those forwards. How could a manger who preferred defense make a forward the core? All offense came from the backfield, and naturally, the defensive midfielder was the most suitable person to be the core.

However, Balotelli didn’t know that. He didn’t expect those discouraging words from his manager and changed color abruptly.

How could this change of his expression escape Dunn’s eyes? Of course, the purpose of the conversation was to make use of Balotelli’s talent, but if Balotelli asked for too much, he would say no. Like now…

To be the core?

It was ridiculous! Having a forward at the core was contrary to all his tactics. How could he turn his tactics around and change the core? And get the entire team to adapt to the change in time? Time was most precious now. He could not waste it on such issues.

Besides, if Balotelli was an unstable player, why should he be the core? A core must be stable. If he sleepwalked in a match, wouldn’t the whole team suffer?

He wouldn’t do such a silly thing!

Although Dunn thought so, he could not say it. He stressed his opinion that the core as a forward and the core as a midfield were not the same thing. If he got Balotelli to score more goals, he might reconsider…

Since he aimed to motivate Balotelli, this could be regarded as a way to do it.

Therefore, he changed his expression immediately: “But you know, Mario, our tactic is to stagger two forwards, one in the front and one behind…” He made a gesture of staggering, and Balotelli nodded to show that he had understood. “I let you play forward. The aim is not to let you stay at the forefront to play center-forward.”

Balotelli understood that a center-forward should thrust into the penalty area of the opposition, where he would be surrounded by the opponent’s backs. Not just scoring goals, but even taking possession of the ball wouldn’t be easy.

“Your position is the second striker.” Dunn took a piece of paper, scribbled on it, and showed it to Balotelli.

As the picture showed, Balotelli’s position was wandering around the penalty area and seemed to be sort of away from it. However, this place was more suitable for his style and he would be freer in this area than in the penalty area.

Balotelli’s view of this manager changed gradually as he saw this picture. It looked like this boss was different from the previous ones, and had really researched his skills to make the best of them.

“Your position is more flexible…” Dunn pointed to the picture and looked at Balotelli. He didn’t expect the conversation to be a tactical discussion, but it was good. Better cut to the chase than talk nonsense.

“Mitchell will distract the attention of the opposition’s backs for you, and you need to connect our midfielders and forwards. He will push the opponent’s defenders to the forefront, leaving you with this vacancy…” Dunn drew a circle in front of the penalty area. “It’s up to you to shoot or pass here.”

Hearing this, Balotelli’s first thought was to shoot, but Dunn seemed to know what was on his mind. “Of course, if you always shoot regardless, I will reconsider your position…”

In fact, Balotelli wasn’t that much of a lone wolf player. Otherwise, the right midfielder wouldn’t be one of his most accustomed positions. He liked to cross from byline for his teammates, which was a very prominent tactic when he was in Inter Milan. It was just that he was the player with the highest net worth after he came to Nottingham Forest F.C. George Wood hadn’t transferred to another team and didn’t have an exact net worth, so no comparison was made between the two. Naturally, he was somewhat arrogant; he wanted his teammates to pass the ball to him rather than cooperate with teammates.

Now Dunn had to adopt and carrot and stick approach to let Balotelli regain his willingness to cooperate with his teammates. He didn’t need a forward who only focused on shooting and scoring, because the tactics of his team put emphasis on collectivism, and on one under his charge could be a lone wolf. If this were the case, it would be his fault as the manager.

“A second striker who can shoot by himself as well as cooperate with his teammates is better than one who only shoots all by himself. I hope you understand me, Mario.”

Anyway, Dunn was a manager who won the grand slam in both the club and the national team. No matter how contemptuous Balotelli was, he had to restrain himself in front of Dunn.

In fact, what was on the players’ mind was simple: if the manager had an impressive resume, no matter how famous and influential a star player was, he would obey the manager. One of the reasons why Balotelli was conceited and intractable was that the previous managers were not very important in his eyes.

“When should I shoot by myself and when should I pass the ball?” Balotelli asked a question that he immediately found foolish.

As expected, Dunn grinned at him. “You are the genius, Mario. Don’t you know the answer to this question?”

Ridiculed by Dunn, Balotelli was a little embarrassed. “I know, of course I know!” He resented how his question represented low confidence and vigor.

Dunn, too, didn’t want him to be too embarrassed. For exceptionally talented players, the management methods should not be too harsh. He was now 50 years old, no longer a young man in his thirties. Back then, he could hold Anelka on the substitutes’ bench very tightly for maintaining his authority. He couldn’t do such a thing now. Maybe because of advanced age, or because he had experienced too much, that sort thing of thing felt trivial now. He didn’t resent Balotelli’s pretentious pride.

That was why his mind was filled with ideas on how to make use of Balotelli rather than drive him away.

Of course, the authority of the manager should be maintained, but it should not be done by driving players who were talented and in their prime years to the stand. Didn’t Ferguson make the threatening remark that “I’d rather let him rot in the stands than sell him to Real Madrid”? However, did he really do so? No. Not only he did not, but he also made Ronaldo the core of Manchester United and even sacrificed Rooney for doing so. That was what a godfather-like manager should be: broad-minded and skillful. It was all in the team’s interest.

Tony Twain, who was 50 years old, really became mature, but regretfully, he would only be in charge until the end of this season. If he hadn’t had a heart condition and had been healthy, one could imagine what glorious achievements he could have reached in his position…

Well, in that case, was his retirement a fortune or misfortune to global football?

Dunn and Balotelli were discussing the details of tactics and strategies on the pitch in the future. The atmosphere between the two was harmonious, which was much of a surprise to both of them. As far as Dunn was concerned, Balotelli, the 28-year-old Italian player, was entitled to be arrogant, because he was really talented. Balotelli could understand his tactics without too much emphasis; he only needed to state them once. In Balotelli’s eyes, this manager who had countless glorious achievements was not just a glib and lucky guy; on the contrary, he really understood football and himself, and he was a boss one could pledge his loyalty to.

When in Inter Milan, there was a man who made him feel that way. That man later went to Manchester United. During his four years in Nottingham Forest, he always thought about going to Manchester United, which was in fact for following that person. Now he realized he didn’t need to do that anymore.

The private conversation was planned to last less than fifteen minutes, but when Dunn and Balotelli looked at the time, it was already 2 o’clock…

When Balotelli realized this, he simply laughed. Looked like it was a funny thing as it happened with a godfather of champions.

Dunn didn’t care much how players looked at him. He touched his belly and said to Balotelli, “Let’s have lunch, my treat today.”

After one hour’s communication, their relationship became very friendly. It was not strange to Balotelli that Dunn offered this.

“Anything is OK, I don’t want any food in particular. Actually, I’m not hungry…”

“Don’t say that. There will be a training course in the afternoon. You think you can handle my training on an empty stomach? If you have to quit halfway because you are physically inadequate, I’ll certainly take this chance to punish you. You should know how much I would dislike anything to go wrong in this team now…”

Dunn said this with a poker face, which really scared Balotelli, who was sure that his boss was serious.

Remembering how Twain treated Bale, the veteran of this team, Balotelli thought he ought to be careful. Just because Bale slacked in a group of shuttle run, Twain let Bale run another 20 rounds under the scorching sun.

He was the King of Wilford. Here, no one dared to go against his will.

“Okay, I’ll follow your order, boss…”

※※※

During the training interval, everybody found that Balotelli was actually chatting with his countryman Fiorillo, which didn’t happen usually. Even Fiorillo himself was surprised, and he couldn’t keep up with Balotelli’s conversation at times.

Kerslake and Eastwood looked at Dunn with inquisitive eyes and wanted to know what he said to this Italian.

“Just cater to his pleasure,” Dunn shrugged. “He is eager to be taken seriously, so take him seriously. Trust him, I think he won’t let us down…”