Godfather Of Champions

Twain held back his urge to walk over to the side and figure out what was going on. He withdrew his gaze from the crowd and focused his attention on the training session once again. He still did not understand why Michael would appear at the training grounds, but he felt that he would get the answer he sought at the end of the training session.

Twain thought he was hallucinating when he saw Michael in the crowd. He wondered if he had time traveled again. Did I time travel back to 2003? Wouldn’t that just mean that I am trapped in an endless loop? That was what he thought

He looked at the players who were training on the pitch and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw an aged Bale. If he had time traveled back to 2003, Bale would definitely not have appeared before him.

Twain could finally relax and focus all his attention on the training session once he was certain that he had not time-traveled to the past.

The media was given 15 minutes to take photos of the training session. However, 15 minutes was too short and not enough for the reporters. They wanted to stay longer and take more photos, but the security guards promptly appeared before them.

Left with no choice, the reporters reluctantly packed their bags and left the training grounds. They then waited to be allowed entry into the training grounds a second time for their interviews outside the premises. The Forest fans, on the other hand, could remain at the side of the pitch. The ’15 minutes’ rule did not apply to them.

One concern was that a reporter could dress up as a fan so as to remain on the training grounds. However, based on Twain’s experience as a manager for the past decade or so, the possibility of that happening was very low.

Only one training session was planned for today since tomorrow was the match day. The players would train in the morning before resting for the whole afternoon. Thereafter, the entire team would check into their hotel and then make way for the stadium the next day.

The players were mainly going to practice on their set pieces for today’s training. Set pieces were especially useful when the team needed to break a deadlock in a match, and the coaches would always schedule drills that got the players to practice on their set pieces prior to every match.

However, training did not go very smoothly that day. The players would often commit mistakes, and this resulted in a largely ineffective training session. One of the players who kept committing mistakes was Gareth Bale. He repeatedly failed to send the ball to the assigned spot during training, and it caused his teammates to run to the front of the pitch for nothing time and time again.

What could be causing his poor performance?

Twain decided to halt training for a short while. He wanted to find out what was going on with Bale.

“Bale,” He waved at the man nicknamed the ‘Little Monkey’ and gestured for him to come over.

Bale lowered his head and ran towards Twain.

“What’s wrong? Your head’s in the clouds.”

“Uh… Nothing…”

“Did you quarrel with your girlfriend?”

“No, I did not…”

“Then tell me what’s going on. Is there something that I shouldn’t know about?”

Bale lowered his head and hesitated for a brief moment before raising his head to look at Twain. “I got distracted when I thought about how this is going to be your last training session, boss…”

Twain did not know whether he should laugh or cry at Bale’s words. So I am the problem, he thought to himself.

He then looked at the pitch before him. All the players were looking their way because the training had been paused. Only then did he notice the same emotion that Gareth Bale had just exhibited in the eyes of all his players.

In truth, Twain had lamented about how this was the last training session of his managerial career as well. However, he got rid of those thoughts the moment training began. After all, it was a day just like any other. There might be a few more reporters than usual, but everything else was the same.

However, there would definitely be people who could not bear to see him leave…

Twain quickly realized that this kind of emotion should not appear during training. It would only influence the effectiveness of the training session negatively. It was very important that his players practice their set-pieces because set-pieces might end up becoming the key to winning the match tomorrow.

Bale continued to stand before Twain with his head lowered. He looked like a child who had just done something wrong. But what wrong did he do?

Twain looked at the meek expression on Bale’s face and let out a sigh.

“Follow me,” he told Bale before walking straight towards his players.

Bale dragged his feet along and followed behind Twain obediently.

Two assistant managers and six coaches watched as Twain walked towards them, but no one said a word. Tony Twain usually would not interfere with their work, because everything that had to be done for today’s training session had already been decided during their meeting on Monday. However, if he halted the training session because he had something to say, that something had to be very important.

Twain walked right into the circle formed by the players and stood in the middle. Bale, on the other hand, came to a stop next to Aaron Mitchell. Mitchell bent over slightly and asked him in a hushed voice, “Hey, Little Monkey. What did the boss say to you just now?”

“He wanted to know why I was performing poorly.”

Mitchell stroked his chin. “You did perform poorly today.”

“So did you,” Bale nudged Mitchell in the ribs.

Mitchell giggled.

“What did you say to him?” Mitchell asked softly after he finished giggling.

“I told the boss that I’m performing poorly because this is his last training session with us.”

Mitchell fell silent after hearing Bale’s answer. He probably would have given a similar answer if he had been the one who was asked the question earlier.

“Did he say anything to you?” Mitchell asked after a brief moment of silence.

“He told me to ‘follow him’.” Bale pointed at Tony Twain who stood in the middle of the crowd.

Both players looked at Twain.

Their boss stood in the middle of all of them. He then raised a hand to signal that he had something to say.

“Lads, I can see something in your eyes.” Twain was about to make an impromptu speech before his players, and it was probably going to be his last time giving a speech during a training session.

“It’s wrong for you to feel that way now. Do you have any idea what you are doing right now? This is a training session, and we have a very, very important match tomorrow… Don’t tell me that there are some of you here who think that tomorrow’s match is not important because we are already in the top six.”

Twain turned right and left and surveyed the players around him.

“If you have the leisure for thoughts like how this is going to be my last training session with you lot, it only proves that you either think you can win tomorrow’s match easily, or you don’t care about the results of tomorrow’s match. Both of which are not what I want from all of you!”

Twain paused to catch his breath. The sunlight was quite strong today, and a thin layer of sweat had formed on his exposed forehead. Twain felt a little short of breath as he stood under the sun. His physical condition reminded him once again that he had made the right decision to retire.

“I know some of you have not been in Forest for long and are not part of the team that won the Treble years ago. Actually, there are very few players from that team here today. I can understand how those senior players would feel.” Twain looked at where Bale was. He was not sure if it was a coincidence, a deliberate act or a habit, but Mitchell stood to the left of Bale, and Joe Mattock stood to the left of Mitchell. The player standing behind Mattock was Agbonlahor, and the player standing to Bale’s right was Nkoulou. Gago stood to the right of Nkoulou, and Chris Cohen stood in front of Gago. The only player who did not stand with them was George Wood. He stood across from them, with the new players of the team.

“But it’s precisely because I understand how they feel that I’m so upset. Do you all remember the words that are written on the walls of the tunnel? ‘Victory is all that matters’! That is Nottingham Forest’s philosophy. Have you all forgotten?”

Twain stared into the eyes of the senior players on the team. He wanted to see something different from what he saw earlier.

Bale took a step forward. He and Wood have played under Twain for the longest time, and they also had the most experience in the team. However, Wood would not be willing to speak up on this matter, and thus the job fell on Bale’s shoulders.

“But boss… it’s not that we want to lose the match, or that we think we can win the match easily. It’s just…. We just got distracted when we thought about how this is going to be your last training session with us… Yeah, that’s it.”

“Then how do you intend to make me believe that you won’t get distracted in the match tomorrow? We’d be playing in the last match of my managerial career tomorrow, mind you. That’s way more important than my last training session, isn’t it?” Twain winked at Bale humorously. However, Bale did not smile.

Some of the new players laughed at Twain’s words. They clearly did not understand their boss well enough.

Twain did not mind the abrupt laughter. He stared intently at Bale. He wanted the latter to give him an answer that would satisfy him.

What kind of answer could Bale possibly give? Could he possibly say ‘I think we won’t make that kind of mistake, boss’? His boss would definitely not believe him, and those words might end up angering him instead. His boss might have become gentler now, but no one dared to look down on him. The words that he said on the very first day he returned to the team still remained fresh in everyone’s minds –’If any one of you thinks I’m old, then go ahead and try me!’

Those words of his were powerful and they resounded in the players’ hearts.

Twain had merely hidden his ambition under a friendly exterior. His past, fiery self could very well surface again if something provoked him.

“I cannot guarantee that we won’t get distracted tomorrow, boss…” Bale chose to admit that he was wrong under Twain’s intense stare.

“Then I want you to forget about how this is going to be my ‘last training session’.” Twain waved his hands dismissively. “I want all of you to practice just like you would on any other day. If I see any of you getting distracted during training one more time, I will not hesitate to take your name off the starting list or the team list for tomorrow’s match.”

Twain walked towards Kerslake and patted him on the shoulder after finishing his words. “I leave everything else to you, David.”

“Don’t worry, Tony. I’ll handle things from here,” Kerslake told Twain.

Twain walked away from the crowd and stood by the side of the pitch. He became a spectator once again.

He then sent a cursory glance at the eastern part of the training grounds. The fans were still there, and they seemed to be discussing something excitedly. They must have found the incident from earlier interesting.

The edge of Twain’s lips went up. Look at the fans. They are all acting normally. The players should really learn a thing or two from them…

It was clear that Michael Bernard was the center of attention among the Forest fans. Everyone had crowded around him subconsciously. Michael did not say much as he stood in the middle of the fans. It was hard to imagine that he used to be the boss of a group of hooligans and the leader of the Forest fans over a decade ago. He was dressed in a shirt, trousers and leather boots, and he looked just like any other office worker.

It would be even better if he were carrying a briefcase, Twain thought evilly.

He definitely had to go and find Michael when the training session was over. However… he probably would not be able to meet him anytime soon.

Twain thought about the group of reporters who should still be standing outside the training grounds at the moment. He would definitely be busy for quite a while when those reporters heard that they could enter the premises once again…

※※※

The team was finally able to practice normally after Twain had chastised them earlier. None of the players dared to lose their concentration under Twain’s watchful eye now. In fact, everyone worked even harder than they used to because no one was willing to be dropped from such an important match due to a lapse in concentration during training. Twain did not want the players to think about how tomorrow was going to be the last match of his managerial career, but it was impossible for them not to think about it. However, the players knew that they had no choice but to suppress those thoughts for now. They had to convert all their emotions and thoughts into their drive for tomorrow’s match.

The players wanted Twain to speak to them after the training session was over, but Twain waved his hands and refused their request.

“I’ve already said all that I should say for now. I’d just be repeating whatever I already said if I gave another speech now. I have no interest in wasting your time. I want all of you to shower and change into a new set of clothes now! Don’t catch a cold!” He was about to turn around and walk towards the reporters when he added, “Oh, yes. Let me say this. All of you did very well during the training session earlier.”

Twain did not walk towards the fans. He knew that the restless reporters would not let him go.

Just as he expected, he was surrounded by a horde of reporters the moment he walked to the entrance of the training grounds.

Countless microphones, recorders, and mobile phones were thrust out towards him.

“The last match of your managerial career is going to take place tomorrow. Is there anything that you want to say about it, Mr. Twain?

“I’m feeling peaceful. Thank you.”

“What do you think about your chances of defeating Mourinho’s team?”

“I don’t know, that’s not up to me to decide. You should ask God instead. The only thing I know is that my goal is to win.”

“Manchester United would be able to retain their Premier League title as long as they win against you…”

“I know that. The fact that I’m still able to encounter such an interesting situation before I retire makes me very happy,” Twain smiled. His smile was genuine because the situation was indeed very interesting. He worked hard to prevent his team from being in a situation whereby they were at the mercy of Manchester United, but he did not expect the tables to be turned so that it was Manchester United who was at their mercy.

Twain was not a benevolent soul who would show sympathy to others when there was something that he sought. He was actually the complete opposite of that. He was a vile man who would be more than happy to kick Mourinho into the abyss.

It was true that he drank with Mourinho in Brazil before, but that was all in the past. He had returned to his job as a manager, and Mourinho was his opponent for the next match. That was all that mattered now.

“Do you feel a little sad knowing that today is your last training session with the players?”

If the reporter had asked Twain this question yesterday, he would have most likely nodded earnestly in response. However, Twain had already felt sadness and reluctance to leave yesterday, and he did not want to have those feelings once more today. Besides, he was already 50 years old this year. There was nothing he could not put behind him at this age.

He shook his head and said, “My mind is filled with thoughts of tomorrow’s match at the moment. I’m not thinking about anything else now.”

There were a lot more reporters than usual today, and as a result, there were a lot more questions as well. Twain patiently answered each and every question that was posed to him. He did not lose his temper or storm away as he would in the past. His temper has certainly improved considerably.

The reporters crowded around Twain and asked him questions for approximately 20 minutes. They only stopped when Twain waved his hands and refused to be interviewed any further.

The players had already left the training grounds by then. Most of the fans who stood at the eastern part of the training grounds were gone as well.

Twain glanced at the fans who had stayed behind, and he did not see Michael among them. It looked like he would have to make a trip down to Burns’ bar later. He has an entire afternoon’s worth of time to burn anyway. There was no need to hurry.

Right as Twain turned around to walk towards the car park, he suddenly heard someone call his name from behind. The voice sounded very familiar.

Twain turned back around and saw Michael Bernard standing under a tree by the side of the road!