Godfather Of Champions

No matter how important the 37th round was, it was time to put it aside. The three heroes of the 37th round of the league had a more important battle than this — Manchester United was going to Milan for an away challenge against AC Milan and Nottingham Forest would usher in Chelsea at home.

As three Premier League teams had broken into the top four this year, the English media was far more focused on the Champions League than previous years.

Many media outlets had gone with Manchester United to Milan, and a flood of reporters had also poured into Nottingham city.

War was coming.

Mourinho had placed a lot of importance on the game and had brought all of Chelsea’s healthy players to Nottingham. Since he did not hesitate over a draw in the last round of the league, he still employed rotation and it could be seen that he wanted more to make a breakthrough in the Champions League. After all, he had won two league titles since the two seasons he had been in Chelsea. The league title was less attractive to him than before, whereas he was eager to prove himself in the Champions League. The Chelsea fans were also a little tired of always dominating at home. They would prefer to see their team be able to pick up the Champions League trophy.

The UEFA Champions League was the only championship title Chelsea had not won. Being the king of Europe was a temptation that no human being could stay away from. Many people currently said that even though Chelsea had won two league titles, they were still an upstart team. If they could not win the Champions League title, that label would always follow them.

No one liked to be an upstart.

During and interview the day before the game, Mourinho confidently declared that he had come to beat Nottingham Forest and then to advance to the final. He did not consider anything else beside that.

“My players are in a good shape, my team is in a good condition, and I’m similarly in good form as well. Everything is fine. I’m only waiting for one victory now. Two away goals? This is not important as long as we beat them by more than two goals.”

Mourinho had shown so much confidence that the Nottingham newspapers had even used the phrase “the soldiers at the city walls” to cover Chelsea’s arrival.

Twain did not take Mourinho’s remarks to heart. “Anyone knows how to wage a war of words. It’s so easy to say I want to win. It doesn’t take three seconds to say it,” he said in an interview. He spread his hands to the reporters. “It’s better to wait until after the game to review Mr. Mourinho’s raving. Hopefully he won’t feel embarrassed that he had said these words.”

A reporter asked if Twain still planned to stick to playing defensive counterattack at home, but Twain diverted the topic. He would not say anything about that to the reporters.

Twain was not in the frame of mind to wage a war of words with Mourinho before the game, but Mourinho actively made a number of provoking comments in the newspapers that spurred on Nottingham Forest. Twain knew it was Mourinho’s psychological tactic. If he met him head on, he would have fallen into his trap. Therefore, he evaded repeatedly and let Mourinho do his one-man show.

Once he won the game, he would be able to use words to hit back at Mourinho, but now was not the time.

※※※

Of the two semi-final games, the first one was held in Nottingham, and the next night was Manchester United versus AC Milan. Due to the bad blood between Tony Twain and José Mourinho, the game attracted more attention.

On May 2nd, the afterglow of the sunset could still be seen in the western skies. In the distant darkening sky, there was only a sliver of light on the horizon, proving that the night had not yet descended. Despite this, the streetlights in the Nottingham city center had long been lit, the Trent River reflecting the glittering river bank and the crowded Trent Bridge.

Nottingham Forest fans and Chelsea fans decorated the two different paths towards the City Ground stadium, with police escorts and close surveillance along the way. The police officers had been busy during every match day since Twain took over the team. Last year was the first time in twenty-six years that the City Ground stadium had last hosted a Champions League semi-final game. At that game, Nottingham’s police appeared to be in a flurry. They were much calmer today.

A police car pulled up on the side of the road and a young policeman watched warily as a large group of Nottingham Forest fans walked past them.

His partner, an older policeman with graying hair and a craggy face, came around from behind the car.

“Relax, lad. It’s no big deal. We’re not in an active area for football hooligans here. And since that last incident, it’s rare to see a massive brawl before and after a match.” The older policeman leaned against the car door and chatted with his young colleague. “Loosen up and relax. Will you watch the game later?”

The young policeman turned his head and looked at him with some surprise. “We have to be on duty. How can we watch the game?”

“It’s not as if it only counts if we watch the game live in the stadium.” He leaned into the car and turned on the car radio. A voice immediately came on from inside:

“We have seen both teams arrive at the City Ground stadium in their buses. The first to alight is Nottingham Forest’s manager, Tony Twain. He’s now waving to the fans.”

The young policeman looked at the older policeman in astonishment.

“We’ll just listen to the radio. I didn’t have such a well-developed televised broadcast when I was a kid.” He pointed to a broadcast signal van in the distance. “Back then everyone listened to the radio. When the Forest team won the Champions League for the first time, I listened to the entire game on the radio. I was as young as you and on duty then, too.” The older policeman smiled as he reminisced. “I would listen the car radio in the police car for almost every one of the home games. I was in charge of this area.” He pointed at his feet. “Every home game day, I would be here, looking at the City Ground stadium and listening to the radio. I had to turn the volume up as loud as possible, because from there…” He pointed again in the direction of the City Ground stadium. “It could get really noisy, as if I was watching the game in the stadium.”

“Was it the same when the Forest team was relegated?” asked the young policeman.

“Yes, I was on duty as long as there was a home game. Even though we were relegated, our home attendance was still the highest out of any league team of the same level.” The older policeman was proud to say it. “Of course, it can’t be compared to now.” He sounded even prouder.

Another large group of Nottingham Forest fans walked past the front of the police car. Leading in front was a fat man with a discolored scarf around his neck. Seeing the group of people, the older policeman turned around to pull a Nottingham Forest scarf out of the car and hung it around his neck. The young man noticed that the scarf was old-fashioned in style and color, and it seemed to be old.

This group of fans got excited when they saw the older policeman with the scarf around his neck. They chanted phrases that cheered on Nottingham Forest to pay respects to the older policeman.

“Athens! Athens!”

“0415, report the situation on your side. Over.” The walkie-talkie on the shoulders of the older policeman emitted a staticky voice.

“0415 reporting in. All good on the south exit of Trent Bridge. Over.” The older policeman spoke into the walkie-talkie as he looked at the group of fans.

That group of fans had already gone far as they chanted the words.

The older policeman turned his gaze away from the fans. “I retire in a week. And then, I can finally go watch a real live game and cheer on the Forest team in the stands, even if Athens is a bit far away…”

“But there’s still this round in the semifinals. Who knows what the outcome will be.”

“No, we will win.” The older policeman looked at the young man and said firmly, “of course we will.”

The young man was stunned. For a moment, no one spoke. Only the radio in the car transmitted a rustling voice:

“Both teams have entered the City Ground stadium to warm up. The two managers will definitely deploy their main forces for this game as this is a key battle that will eventually determine which team will go to Athens. Manager Twain will not take this lightly, despite the fact that he had scored two away goals and beat Chelsea. Manager Mourinho will also not give up just because he lost the first bout.”

※※※

The fervor in the City Ground stadium had dropped slightly, as the players of both teams, who had done their warm-ups on the field, had returned to their respective locker rooms.

Twain looked at the players, who had changed into their jerseys, and got ready to motivate them one last time.

“Forget about that 2:1 game a week ago,” he started. “If we can’t win this game, then that 2:1 game will be pointless. It doesn’t help us secure our victory by overthinking a game that was over before the results come out. Some people say that we are already halfway in the Olympic Stadium because we won the first round, but I call bullshit! I want you to completely forget the first round and put all your energy into this game right in front of you!”

“Mourinho’s Chelsea will not let us off easily. For us to go to Athens, we have to step on their bodies. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Ribéry raised his hand and stood up.

“Do you have any questions, Franck?” Twain asked with a serious expression.

“Boss, I think you’re talking nonsense. Is there anyone among us who will show mercy to Chelsea?” Ribéry glanced back at his teammates and everyone nodded in agreement. “Of course we will knock Chelsea down and then step on them on our way to Athens. Otherwise it will be them who step on us. Isn’t that right, guys?”

“Yes!”

Twain grinned. “Franck, I think you’ll soon be able to stand up here and replace me. Why don’t you come up here now?” He pointed at his feet.

Ribéry hurriedly waved his hands. “I can’t do that. It is very hard to be both a player and a coach.” He immediately sat back down.

“So, I want to say…” Twain thought for a while and realized that Ribéry had finished what he had wanted to say. He scratched his head and said with some irritation, “damn it, Franck, you took my lines!”

A huge burst of laughter erupted in the locker room. Ribéry laughed the most gleefully.

“All right, let’s step on Chelsea and go to Athens!” He brandished his fists.

※※※

Mourinho paced back and forth in the locker room. The players had long been ready and waited for him to say something. He was wondering what to say.

The home loss and two goal concedes were like a boulder weighing on the entire team, and he did not want to think about them. If they wanted to go to Athens, it was not enough to beat the Forest team. Even with a 1:0 score, they would be eliminated because they had fewer away goals.

“Nottingham Forest is certain to use defensive counterattack on their home ground.” Walking back and forth for several turns, Mourinho eventually stopped and turned to face his players. “If we rush to press because we are anxious to score, then we will fall into Twain’s trap. So we can’t go all out in our offense, or more accurately, we can’t sacrifice our defense because of the offense. Everyone knows Nottingham Forest is best at defensive counterattack. Therefore, I’m asking you to be on guard and defend in this game.”

When he said that, everyone looked at each other, as they did not expect the boss to lay out such tactics.

“Any difficulties?” asked Mourinho.

Everyone shook their heads. Defense across the board was not an issue.

The Israeli technical advisor, Avram Grant, frowned. He interjected worriedly, “José, so how do we keep our strength secure?”

The Israeli’s concerns were reasonable. At the final stages of the season and after nearly a season of competition, everyone’s stamina was pushed to the brink of exhaustion. Defense across the board required a lot of physical strength. If they could not keep up their physical strength in the second half, would it not make it easier for the Forest team to play defensive counterattack?

Mourinho glanced at him, but did not look him in the eye. Instead, he looked at the players in front of him. “Twain will not have thought of us playing conservatively by going all out in our defense and force interceptions. His team will not be able to react properly. This is our chance. Seize it. The sooner you score, the better it is! Goals will completely disrupt their deployment and plan. Then we will try to lock in the game within seventy-five minutes!”

That was actually in response to Grant. Mourinho had little affection for the Israeli technical advisor that was dropped into his lap.

Who was the technical advisor supposed to advise? Guide the players, what right does he have to guide my players, Maradona or Pelé? Then can it be… he’s here to guide me? What a joke!

“Full-on press and intercept as much as you can. Use any means to destroy their passing routes and attacking pace! But be careful of getting yellow cards. Be a little smarter! We are in an away game and have to take into account the referee. I don’t want to go to Athens at the cost of three or four players.” Mourinho pointed to his players. “I forbid any of you to drop out!”

※※※

“This is the first half of the second leg of the 06-07 Champions League semi-final game of the season. As a civil war in England, this has garnered the attention of the English football fans. Nottingham Forest’s home stadium, City Ground is full, and there are many fans who can’t feel the atmosphere of this semi-final game in person because the City Ground stadium can only hold 30,000 people. For safety reasons, only 28,000 people can enter the stadium to watch the game.”

The televisions in the VIP box broadcasted live commentary, and the commentator introduced some information about the stadium to everyone.

Allan Adams looked up at the television for a while before he turned his gaze to look down at the full grandstand and said to Evan, who was next to him, “even though it has more than 100 years of history, the stadium is just too small. It’s affecting our ticket revenue. The attendance for Nottingham Forest has always been high, but our ticket revenue is reverse. It’s really not a normal phenomenon.”

Evan nodded. “I feel the same way too. Our stadium is too small to match our current results.”

“There are two options now. A, Extend City Ground to increase the number of seats, or B, choose a site to build a new stadium.”

“Which one do you prefer, Allan?”

“B. That way, we have the opportunity to attract more investment. It is considered very good if we can add five thousand seats on the original foundation, but that is still not enough. If it is newly constructed, we can build a luxury stadium that can accommodate up to 60,000 people.” Allan spoke enthusiastically of his plan.

Evan did not agree on anything right away, he just nodded. “Money is a major concern.”

“We can auction the stadium’s naming right to the company that invests in the new stadium, just like Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.”

“This is a good idea, but we’re not Arsenal. Companies may not necessarily give us hundreds of millions of pounds to build the stadium.”

In the stadium, the players from both teams had already filed out of the tunnel, appearing in front of the spectators. A tsunami of cheers rang out in the stadium.

Allan looked at the scene and laughed. “If we can keep winning championships, there will be businesses willing to invest in us.”

When he heard Allan, Evan contemplated. After a while, he said, “let’s wait till the end of the season. If Tony takes the Champions League title as he promised, I’ll consider your proposal. A European champion cannot be housed in a shabby stadium that can only accommodate more than 20,000 people.”

He looked up at the VIP box, which was shabby compared to Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge, Emirates Stadium and Anfield Stadium.

It was time to eliminate such an ancient thing.