Godfather Of Champions

Even though the day for the team’s training in the Netherlands was not here yet, Tony Twain had traveled to the nation of tulips first with Dunn.

This was not a vacation. If it was for a vacation, Twain would not go there with Dunn. Over there was a place brimming with all kinds of fancies.

※※※

While Van der Vaart was in bed with his wife, Sylvie, he received a call from his agent, Sren Lerby.

The ringtone coming from his cell phone was van der Vaart’s favorite music, but sounded especially raucous at this inappropriate time.

Sylvie, who was lying down, rolled her eyes. She could clearly feel the change in her husband’s body. This was probably not what he had hoped would happen.

“Um…” Van der Vaart was a little embarrassed and looked apologetically at his wife. He rolled away from her and took the phone on the bedside table.

“Sren, do you know what time it is?” He answered the phone harshly and glanced up at the small alarm clock on the bedside table.

It was 11:30 at night.

“I’m really sorry, Rafael. But I think I should tell you this news.” His agent, Sren Lerby, who understood him well, certainly knew what he had interrupted, but sex was something that he could do every night if he wanted to. Now, what he was going to tell van der Vaart did not happen every day.

After he discovered that it was about his future, van der Vaart did not get angry. He bowed his head to give Sylvie a kiss, and then he got up and left the bed. He walked naked into the living room.

“All right. Tell me, Sren.”

“I got a call from the Nottingham Forest manager thirty minutes ago.”

“Nottingham Forest?” van der Vaart said aloud this somewhat awkward-sounding name. “The team that was runner-up in the UEFA Champions League?”

“Yes, they asked me some things about you. I could see that they are interested in you, Rafael.”

Van der Vaart fell into a silence.

At this time, his wife had put on some clothes and came out of the bedroom in a robe.

Van der Vaart glanced back at his wife and took hold of her hand.

“Rafael, a season ago, you promised Danny Blind that you would stay in Ajax for another year, and you have fulfilled that promise now. There are a lot of clubs out there that want you to join, and Nottingham Forest is one of them.”

“Yes, I know about all those offers, but I don’t like some of them.”

“I understand that. I was on the phone with the Nottingham Forest manager for thirty minutes before I decided to call you. If it’s those clubs that don’t meet your requirements, we filter them out here.”

“Thirty minutes?” Van der Vaart was suddenly interested in the Nottingham Forest manager.

Sren Lerby was a well-known Dutch agent and was usually very busy. It was rare for him to be able to talk to a manager whom he was in touch with for the first time for thirty minutes over the phone.

“Yes, we talked about a lot of things, and they were all about you. We asked and replied to each other’s questions. Based on my instincts, I think he’s rather sincere.”

“So, what do you think I should do?”

“He hopes he can meet you in Amsterdam and have a good chat.”

“All right, I’ll do it.”

After he ended the call with his agent, Sylvie moved closer. “Which club is it this time?”

“Nottingham Forest from England. They were the runner-up in the UEFA Champions League last season and lost to Barcelona in the final.” Van der Vaart explained to his wife.

“Are you going to meet their manager?”

“Yes.”

“What will happen?” Sylvie rested her head on van der Vaart’s shoulder.

“I’m not sure.” Van der Vaart turned his face to his wife. “Another round?”

Sylvie leaped away from van der Vaart, “You’re ready again!”

Laughing, van der Vaart picked up his wife and went into the bedroom.

※※※

While van der Vaart was getting cozy with his wife, Sren Lerby dialed Tony Twain’s number.

“He’s agreed, Mr. Twain. We can meet and have a talk.”

“That’s great news.” Twain laughed and breathed a sigh of relief. At first, he was worried that van der Vaart would not meet with him so easily.

“You know, Mr. Twain, As Rafael’s agent, I hope to safeguard his future. There are still a lot of football clubs wooing him, including big clubs like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.”

“I understand. If he has any doubts, he can call Edwin van der Sar, his teammate from the Netherlands national team, and hear what he says about my team.” Twain was confident on that.

He wanted to buy van der Vaart not because he wanted to act like those titans. He had his own judgment and ideas. Before he came here, he and Dunn had already made a tactical plan for the team for if van der Vaart successfully joined the team.

When he purchased a player, he did not care about the player’s price, nationality, character, private life, or other factors unrelated to the game. The first thing he had his eye on was whether the player was what the team needed. As long as the team needed him, then he would buy him regardless of the price. If the team did not require him, then he would not want him no matter how cheap he was.

This had something to do with his notion of personal consumption. He was that kind of person in life, whether it was before or after his transmigration. A dollar was too expensive for something he did not like. But for his favorite things, he was willing to pay any amount of money.

“I hope it’s as you say, Mr. Twain. We’ll be in touch tomorrow. It’s getting late, and you’ve just arrived in the Netherlands.”

“Aha, isn’t the Dutch nightlife just starting now?” Twain asked.

Lerby laughed on the other end of the line. “The red-light district is not as beautiful as it’s reputed to be. If you want to go, Mr. Twain, be a bit more careful.”

“Oh…I’m just asking casually.” Twain also knew that this was not the time to enjoy a scenic tour.

The red-light district in Amsterdam was the world’s famous gathering ground for the sex trade. But at the same time, a lot of crime flourished behind those “window girls.” It was a grey area secretly controlled by the forces of organized crime syndicates. The drug trade and human trafficking were rampant, and petty thefts and so on were even more commonplace.

After he hung up the phone, Twain clapped his hands and said to Dunn, “Good news, van der Vaart has agreed to meet us.”

“The bad news is you’re not able to go to the red-light district that you’ve admired for such a long time?” Dunn said.

Twain cleared his throat. “I’m not interested in putting on a sex show on the street.”

“Not going to happen, there’s a curtain for shelter.”

“You seemed to know a lot.” Twain glared at Dunn.

He did not expect him to shrug his shoulders. “Google’s a very powerful tool. But seriously, since you have arranged for the training to be here, better watch out for those hot-blooded lads on the team.”

It turned out that he had been considering things from this point of view and had therefore gone online to search for information about Amsterdam’s red-light district. His detail-oriented mind was the main reason why Twain valued him.

Twain pondered for a moment, and then said, “Well, I will introduce the relevant rules for it. But let’s think about the matter regarding van der Vaart. Come, let’s sort out the strategy for persuasion when we meet him.”

※※※

“Would you like me to brief you about the team you’re going to meet soon?” On the way from the training ground to the place where Twain was staying, the agent sat in the front passenger’s seat and spoke to van der Vaart, who drove.

“I know they advanced to the Champions League final this season, which was kind of unexpected. Do they have other stories?”

The Forest team, which once reverberated throughout the European football world, was now unknown to a lot of people. For Van der Vaart, who did not previously care about the course of English football, it was normal for him not to know Nottingham Forest’s history.

“Well, yes, and it’s a brilliant past that will surprise you.” Lerby looked down at the information placed on his lap. “Their pinnacle was when they were the winners of the UEFA Champions League twice in a row.”

Van der Vaart turned his head to look at his agent. This was indeed a bit of a surprise.

“In the two consecutive seasons of 78-79 and 79-80. Other than Arsenal in 2004, they were the record-holder of the longest unbeaten record in England’s domestic top league, which was also created in those two seasons: forty-two games.”

“But I’ve never heard that name…”

“That’s normal. After the start of the English Premier League, they rapidly declined and then were relegated into England’s second-tier league. Until their comeback in the last four years. After that, as a newly promoted team, they were ranked fourth in the 04-05 season of the English Premier League and obtained a spot in the qualifier for the 05-06 season Champions League tournament, and then… As you can see, they advanced into last season’s Champions League final and nearly defeated Barcelona.” Lerby skimmed through the information. “I think it’s no use talking about that. It’s already in the past. No one knows what’s going to happen in the future. I’d better introduce you to this young manager who is almost a clone of the greatest manager in their club’s history, the legendary Brian Clough.”

Van der Vaart quickly searched his mind, and soon an image popped out. “The manager who gave the silver medal he had just received to the ball boy on the sidelines at the trophy ceremony?”

Upon hearing that description, Lerby laughed. “That’s right. It looks like that image of him left a very deep impression.”

“I was deeply impressed that he was the first person I had ever seen do that.”

“What do you think of his actions?”

“It’s hard to say…” Van der Vaart was quiet for a moment. “I don’t know what to make of him.”

“He’s that kind of man.” Lerby continued. “Some people like him and some detest him. It’s quite extreme. He was known in England as a manager who can be on an equal footing with Mourinho. Of course, I mean their tempers.” Speaking of which, Lerby picked up a thick pile of information from his lap and flipped through.

“Listen, it’s so thick that the sound is muffled.”

“What’s this?” Van der Vaart threw a quick glance while he drove the car.

“Just some information regarding this temperamental manager… His character, his comments, his coaching results, his tactical style, his personal preferences, and some interesting gossip and tabloids. Thanks to the established media in the UK, this is just what I collected easily. I think it’s more difficult to describe him to you on the way. I’ll just pick out some of the key points. Firstly, most people believe that this manager is extremely good at regulating the mood in the locker room and good at blending with his own players. Under his management, there are no confirmed scandals coming from Nottingham Forest’s locker room. Secondly, most people think that Tony Twain is a manager who values defense more.”

When he heard that, van der Vaart frowned.

Lerby saw it and said, “I’m just stating what people think. It doesn’t represent me or you. You need to observe for yourself what kind of man and manager he really is. We’re here.” He pointed to the street corner ahead, where there was a small hotel.

※※※

The meeting between the two sides was not held in any restaurant, café or bar, but in the hotel where Twain was staying. Before the matter was settled, Twain wanted to keep a low profile. After all, there were plenty of football clubs across Europe that wanted this midfielder.

Lerby served as a translator during the exchange.

When van der Vaart saw Dunn standing next to Twain, he was a little surprised to see an East Asian face.

Twain obviously knew what the other person was surprised about, so he kindly introduced them to each other, “This is Dunn, my assistant manager from China. He’s a very good coach.”

Regardless of whether Dunn was really as good as Twain said, there would probably not be a second example of a Chinese man being employed as an assistant manager in Europe. They had not yet begun a formal conversation, and van der Vaart had already deeply realized the manager’s unusual areas.

In order not to let the mood of the meeting become heavy, the agent, Sren Lerby, began with a joke, “Mr. Twain, did you go to the red-light district in the canals yesterday?”

Twain mischievously laughed in his hoarse voice, “I followed your advice, Mr. Lerby. Dunn and I were well-behaved and stayed in the hotel yesterday. And… Rafael is the purpose of our visit to the Netherlands. He’s more important than anything else.” The conversation shifted naturally to the proper topic.

Twain was grateful to this agent, who was the highest rated among the many types of agents he had been in contact with.

Accordingly, everyone looked at van der Vaart.

“I’ve also listened to Sren’s introduction. He said that you are a very sincere person, so I decided to meet you.”

“Ah, that’s what he said. What do you think of me?”

“Well…you’re very young. You look younger than the one in the Champions League final.”

“That’s all in the past, let’s not mention anything else about it.” Twain winked at van der Vaart and said, “Since you mentioned the Champions League, that’s our goal for the new season.”

“To advance to the final again?” Van der Vaart asked with interest.

“No, we’re going to take the championship trophy this time,” Twain replied with considerable confidence.

Van der Vaart looked into his eyes. His gaze was firm and did not look like he was joking at all.

“It’s an amazing goal.” For a moment, he did not know what to say in the face of such a confident manager.

“Nottingham Forest will not be satisfied with just participating in the Champions League every season. I’m not bragging. I have no doubt about that my players have the ability to do so. Edwin van der Sar and you are teammates of the same national team. Didn’t you hear him talk about us during the World Cup?”

During the World Cup, there were teammates who were interested in Edwin van der Sar being able to play in the Champions League final again, so he was asked some things about that team. However, the people who inquired about them were not van der Vaart. He was not paying attention at that point. He did not think that he would have a connection with this team now.

The discussion fell into a brief silence, and Twain signaled to Dunn. The latter pulled out a stack of papers from the briefcase and handed them to the two men.

“I’ve studied more about your professional experience and style of play, Rafael. This is a tactic I’ve worked out about you in conjunction with the current state of the team. I don’t like to lie, make empty promises or give clichés. Being honest and realistic is what matters fundamentally. I admire your ability, and I very much hope that you can join us. But I believe that I am not the only one who says these things to you. So, I want you to understand our sincerity.” He pointed to the stack of papers.

Van der Vaart picked them up and found that the words were in Dutch. This was a small detail, but it explained some things. He looked up at the smiling Twain and lowered his head to continue reading.

It was indeed a very detailed tactical manual, which was aimed at van der Vaart’s personal characteristics and preferences in combination with the deployment of the Nottingham Forest players. It listed a variety of tactical combinations for him. In Twain’s overall plan, van der Vaart was a player in the midfield, but his position was closer to the penalty area. It was different from his usual position in the 4-4-2 formation. His role here was between the defensive midfielder and the shadow striker.

Twain gave van der Vaart full freedom among the tactics. He could either organize the attack in the midfield or make a long pass to score after his plug-in ahead. And at the same time, it was unlike Ronald Koeman’s, which required van der Vaart to put his energies on the defense.

“Most of my players are multifaceted, so our tactics are nimbler. I’m sure you’ve heard some comments about me, and one of them is bound to mention that I’m a coach that places emphasis on defense.” As van der Vaart looked down, Twain continued. “I admit it. I care a lot about defense because that’s the basis of all victories. However, you’re not required to do the job of defense. We have the best defensive midfielder in Europe. With him around, the offensive players can attack and score without any compunctions.”

Twain was talking about George Wood. He was confident about this. Wood was the best, presently and in the future.

To be honest, there were two points in the detailed tactical manual that touched van der Vaart. The first point was about the shadow striker. Van der Vaart had been a striker when he had first played. Later, depending on the team’s requirements, his position gradually retreated. At one point, he was even put in the position of a defensive midfielder to take charge of the defense by his manager, Koeman. These were not what van der Vaart liked. Even though he was now basically set in the midfield, he still liked the feeling of shooting and scoring. He had very good long shot ability. His place kicks were good too. He did not want to waste such talent.

The other point was that he did not need to think about defense, which allowed him to put his heart and soul into the offense. He liked that point very much. Most talented offensive players did not like their managers making them play defense. They would think that they were being used in an insignificant position, or in other words, completely misused. How could they step forward when the team needed them to attack after having wasted all their strength on defense? If there was someone to play defense full-time, they could attack without the slightest scruple. This was indeed a tempting prospect.

Seeing how van der Vaart was lost in his thought as he stared at the document in his hands, Sren Lerby asked in Dutch, “Is there a problem, Rafael?”

“Well… This is the first time I’ve seen such a detailed tactical commitment during a face-to-face meeting with me. I kind of don’t believe it.”

When he saw the two men chatting in Dutch, Twain knew they must be discussing this and stopped talking. Dunn got up to take away the two glasses of cold water in front of Lerby and van der Vaart and replaced them with two cups of hot water.

“I didn’t think they were so well prepared. No, I should have anticipated it after him talking to me for thirty minutes. You see, I was right, this manager is very unusual.”

Van der Vaart nodded. “He is indeed unusual. His team has just been promoted to the English Premier League for two seasons and he wants to win the Champions League this season. Sren, do you think he’s making an empty promise or has delusions of grandeur?”

Lerby shook his head. “I can’t say for sure. At least they advanced to the Champions League final last season. That wasn’t fake.”

“Nottingham Forest…” Van der Vaart murmured this slightly hard-to-pronounce name, “This is the most substantial offer I’ve ever seen. He’s right, it is indeed realistic. However, I feel I still need to think about it.”

“Of course. It’s a decision about your future. I don’t want you to make a hasty decision.”

The two men agreed and told Twain what they had decided. Nottingham Forest was very sincere, and the terms were very tempting. But van der Vaart still needed to seriously consider the matter, so he was unable to give Twain a reply yet.

Twain said he understood. He just had to be patient. He had not thought that van der Vaart would immediately agree. After all, there were other club’s offers waiting for this Ajax captain.

Anyway, he had expressed enough sincerity and issued all the terms. He had done his best; the rest was up to fate. He had done everything he could, and now the only thing he could do was patiently wait for the answer.

The ball was in van der Vaart’s court.

※※※

On the way back, Sren Lerby told van der Vaart that in July, the Forest team would be in the Netherlands on invitation for the Amsterdam Tournament. Perhaps he could to take a closer look at the team then.

Van der Vaart’s answer was, “If I’m leaving Ajax and going to a new team, it’s a little late to make a decision then.”

※※※

Upstairs in the hotel, van der Vaart’s car could be seen leaving through the room window. Twain tilted his head and said, “We did everything we could. There’s nothing left to do. I hope I didn’t make a trip for nothing.”

“The good news is,” Dunn held the manual in his hand, “Bayern Munich’s offer is bound to be rejected because they once looked down on van der Vaart, which is something the Dutchman kept in mind. Juventus is now going to Serie B, which holds no appeal for van der Vaart. Real Madrid’s real target is Kaka, and their supposed interest in van der Vaart was hyped by the Spanish media. Arsenal already bought Tomáš Rosický and will not buy van der Vaart again. Another suitor, Hamburger SV, I believe is less competitive than we are.”

After listening to Dunn’s analysis, Twain stood at the window as he looked at the car that had disappeared around the corner and remained quiet.