Godfather Of Champions

When Salgado smashed Ribéry’s dribbling ball out of the sidelines, the assistant referee beside the ball did not indicate that this was Nottingham Forest’s throw-in. Instead, he raised both flags in his hands over his head.

That was to indicate that there was a request for substitution on the sidelines.

The fourth official stood on the sidelines and held up the electronic signboard: Nottingham Forest had asked for a substitution. Number 13 would be brought off and number 14 would come on.

Seeing the substitution, the ESPN English commentator was astonished. He rarely saw Manager Tony Twain replace George Wood in a game, not to mention so early in this game, at the 67th minute.

If bringing on Arteta was to strengthen their offense, then was it not better to replace the older Albertini? Why did he want to bring off the young and energetic George Wood, who could run and rob?

It could certainly be due to his yellow card. However, it was quite shocking for a while that Twain was able to make up his mind to replace Wood.

Indeed, even George Wood was taken aback. He stood on the field and looked at the sign held by the fourth official. That red number really indicated that 13 was to be brought off.

He had seldom had the experience of being replaced during a game. Since he had started playing on the Forest First Team, he had rarely felt like this. He was a little dumbfounded, but soon he became angry.

He, George Wood has been replaced ahead of time!

He could not continue to fight it out with Zidane on the field!

He had lost the contest with Zidane.

He did not care who his opponent was or what effect he would have on the football world if he successfully defended against him. He only knew one thing, which was that Twain had instructed him to mark Zidane. Replacing him early must be because he was dissatisfied with his work. It meant that he had failed.

The scene at the El Madrigal stadium from a year ago seemed to re-emerge in front of his eyes; the failed game, the opponent’s look of indifference, and the home fans in the stands all mocking him.

“George?” When Albertini saw that Wood did not move, he called to him from the back.

Wood bowed his head and walked off the field. He walked quickly, and soon he was at the sidelines. However, due to his bad mood, he did not even high-five Arteta. He just lowered his head and walked past his Spanish teammate.

Mikel Arteta did not mind. He could not wait to get on the field.

Kerslake knew Wood was not happy when he saw his expression as he came off the field. Consequently, he wanted to go up to him to give him a few words of praise. However, when he extended his hand, Wood paid him no mind and walked straight back to the substitutes’ bench. There he sat down and ignored everyone else.

Kerslake shrugged helplessly.

Twain focused his eyes on the field from the moment the assistant referee signaled for the substitution. When Wood came off and passed by him, he did not even give him a glance.

Thanks to the developed television technology, this scene was fully captured and faithfully presented in front of countless television viewers.

“George Wood is very dissatisfied with this early replacement. He ignored everyone and just sat back on the substitutes’ bench. Tony Twain did not seem to explain his decision to him.”

Kerslake approached Twain. “Hey, Tony.”

“Leave him alone and let him calm down for a while.” Twain knew why Kerslake had come to find him. “Just pretend you didn’t see that, David. Come on, let’s think about how we should play for the rest of the game.”

Kerslake sighed. “You brought Arteta on in order to strengthen our offense. Anyone can see that. What else is there to analyze there? But, if you’re taking George out, who are you going to send to defend against Zidane?”

“Demetrio.”

“Him? What about Guti?”

Twain gave a quick smile, “Luxemburgo’s biggest mistake in this game was letting Guti and Zidane start at the same time. They’re too similar in their characteristics and positions. Most of the balls will reach Zidane’s feet. So, what is Guti to do? He can only watch the show from the side.” He palmed his hands together. “Guti almost contributes nothing in defense and gets relegated to the side in the offense. It’s equivalent to Real Madrid only having ten players to compete with us. Guti plays like a fountain; he only attacks in spurts. His condition is unstable, and in today’s game… I don’t think he can play well.”

“So, you feel reassured enough to give Demetrio free rein to defend against Zidane?”

“Yes. They’re long-time rivals. He knows what to do. We don’t need to worry. We have now played for…” Twain lifted his wrist to look at his watch, “seventy minutes in the game. We still have twenty minutes to win this game. I’ve already instructed Arteta to bring this message to the players on the field. For the next twenty minutes, we’re attacking!”

※※※

Wood sat on the substitutes’ bench and watched the field in complete silence. His teammates did not dare to speak to him. Everyone could see that he was in a bad mood. It was written over all his face. It was best to leave him, or else one might suffer his wrath if the wrong thing was said.

He saw Albertini, who wore the team captain’s armband, run to defend against Zidane, while his replacement, Arteta, was in charge of organizing the offense. The Forest team kicked off their final attack.

Before Arteta came on the field, the Forest team’s offensive tactic was slightly one-dimensional. It relied largely on the two flanks, which could easily be blocked off by the experienced Real Madrid. Furthermore, there were two defensive players placed in the midfield and their offensive strength was not enough. When more players were required for the offense, there were often not enough attacking players to pose a greater threat to Real Madrid’s goal.

Now, after bringing on Arteta, who was being better at organizing offense, Albertini returned to be in charge of defense. The three Forest midfielders were now responsible for offense and the team’s attacks picked up.

In addition, Arteta’s presence gave the Forest team more opportunities in the middle. When Real Madrid found themselves unable to consistently block the two flanks, their lousy defensive line would scramble.

Twain had always believed that since Makelele had left Real Madrid, the team’s formations had moved to two extremes: a world-class offensive lineup and an amateur defense.

Always impatient and rash, Helguera employed amateur moves in his defense.

And on their flanks were the two fullbacks, Salgado and Roberto Carlos, who were heavy on offense and light on defense.

The still too young and tender Sergio Ramos was the center back.

If they did not have “Saint Iker,” Real Madrid might have hovered around the relegation zone every year these past few seasons.

Twain decided to seize that point and put it to use. No matter how ferocious a goalkeeper was, he would still have moments when he was powerful and too far away to help without the support of his rear defensive line. Therefore, he wanted to completely disrupt Real Madrid’s defensive line so that he could seize the chance once the loopholes emerged and attack.

Arteta made Nottingham Forest’s offense more varied and prolific, which confused Real Madrid’s defense.

Soon, Twain’s substitution made an impact. While Real Madrid’s defensive attention was still on the flanks, Arteta and Albertini coordinated in the middle with a long shot to the goal, forcing Casillas to make a wonderful save.

Whilst lamenting this attack, Twain stole a glance at Wood. The kid was still staring at the field with an inscrutable expression.

※※※

As game time elapsed, the dissatisfied buzzing for the home team increased.

Twain liked that phenomenon. At Bernabéu, the home team was booed the most, not the visiting team. It could be either because Real Madrid could not win the game, or because they were ahead but were not playing well. The Real Madrid players often felt at a loss.

Perhaps Real Madrid was a team that faced more pressure playing at home than away.

The score was still 1:1. If they tied at home with the team that they had beaten in the first round, they would face even greater boos. The Real Madrid players were getting impatient and their movements were becoming bigger, especially Guti’s.

When Arteta pulled his jersey and obstructed him from dribbling the ball during defense, he turned around and confronted his Spanish countryman.

Fortunately, Albertini appeared in time between the two men and separated them. Otherwise, they might have started on each other.

The referee came up and gave a stern verbal warning to the two players who had clashed, hoping they would calm down. But that was a bit difficult for the Real Madrid players who were being jeered at.

Three minutes later, Salgado tackled Franck Ribéry to the ground and received a yellow card.

Twain turned to look at the Real Madrid manager. That Brazilian still stood on the sidelines, immaculately dressed. But his anxious expression was laid bare on his face. He was anxious and at a loss.

He had no idea how his team should play.

Attacking would please the Real Madrid fans and club president. But offensive football was not merely the sum of the attacking players. Guti had hardly served any function since he’d started in the game. His continued presence on the field had become a destabilizing factor. Furthermore, now that the Forest team’s offensive had suddenly increased, Real Madrid’s defensive line was in a constant state of emergency. He was afraid that their defense would collapse if it was not strengthened.

Should he play defense? The current score was a draw and had already drawn jeers from the Bernabéu fans. If he brought on Pablo Garcia to strengthen the defense, would the jeering come to him in a flood?

If they want to win the game, they had to win it beautifully. It was worse to win the game with “ugly” defensive counterattacks than to lose by playing beautiful football.

Luxemburgo really did not understand the Spanish mindset. The team’s current situation was terrible. They urgently needed a victory to inspire their morale. As long as it was a victory, even if it was obtained through the defense, it should be encouraged and supported. Why were they still demanding to play beautiful football when Real Madrid was at their historic low?

He did not understand and could not accept it. It did not correspond to his idea of football.

What was the manager’s role here? Instead of coaching, leading, and directing the team to win the game, he was here to please the spectators and bigwigs in the platform.

But I’m a damn manager, not a circus clown!