Godfather Of Champions

After George Wood said goodbye to his mother at the door, he discovered that there was something different from the norm outside his house today when he opened the door—a white jeep was parked on the side of the road, with a man standing at the front of it.

When the man saw him come out, he greeted him with a smile, “Good morning, George.”

“Boss?” Wood was a little surprised. It was the first time he had seen the team’s manager when he walked out the door to head for training. And it was obvious he waited here specially. He looked back at the house and asked, “Why didn’t you come in since you were here?”

“I’ve just arrived.” Twain told an obvious lie.

“Do you need me for something?”

“I was just passing through here. Shall we go to Wilford together?” Twain patted the Mercedes Jeep behind him.

As the highest-paid player in Nottingham Forest, George Wood currently did not even have a car and ran to the training ground every day. Maybe it could explain why he was so fit from this aspect…

Wood looked back at his house again, then marched over, opened the car door and entered.

Twain drove slowly. It was still early, and he was in no hurry to get to Wilford. Because there were some words that were more appropriate to say at this time than when they reached there.

“George, you have been distracted lately. Have you met with any trouble?”

Wood certainly knew that for the boss to break precedence and pick him up for training, he was definitely not “passing by.” But he still had to retort back at Twain, “Didn’t you say I was looking for a girlfriend?”

Twain cleared his throat and said, “It… was just a joke. I received a call early this morning. My friend told me that AC Milan has privately contacted you?”

“They didn’t get in touch with me. They just talked to my agent, Woox.”

Twain smiled, “Getting in touch with him the same as contacting you. He’s your agent. A lot of times, he can make decisions on your behalf. I heard AC Milan promises you a lot of favorable terms. Can you tell me about them?”

“The weekly salary is higher. They will give me all my portrait rights. And….”

At this point, Wood hesitated.

“What else?” Twain asked.

“They promised to pay for my mother’s medical treatment.”

Twain sneered in his heart. In order to get the world’s number one defensive midfielder, AC Milan really spared no efforts and knew to start with George’s mother…

But then again, it made sense. They were not fools and would obviously uncover George Wood’s weaknesses.

But Twain had something to say, “George, I’m going to say something that you might not want to hear— Is your mother… Is your mother’s illness a problem can be solved by money?”

With his palms at the steering wheel, Twain turned his head to George Wood, who sat in the front passenger seat.

Wood did not answer the question. He just reminded and said, “Eyes ahead, boss. You’re still driving.”

Twain did not turn his head. He continued to look at Wood and asked, “Do you really think having a lot of money will cure your mother’s illness?”

Wood pursed his lips and did not answer. But the expression on his face was already a little ugly.

“George if you want to make more money, want to play football in a real powerhouse club and become more famous, I understand when you say you want to go to AC Milan. But if you’re doing it for your mother… I can’t agree. Can you cure your mother’s illness by going to Italy? You’re with her every day. You probably know more about the condition of her health than those Italian experts…”

“Stop the car!” Wood suddenly said.

Twain obediently applied the brakes.

Wood twisted around to open the car door.

Twain did not try to stop him either. He just raised his voice at the back and shouted, “George Wood! You know better than anyone else, don’t you?!”

Wood wordlessly opened the car door and jumped out of the car.

“When are you going to stop fantasizing? Can’t you be more realistic?”

The answer to his question was the loud bang of Wood slamming the car door.

Then Twain saw him turn and run in the direction of his house.

Twain did not get out of the car to give chase. He just threw a punch at the steering wheel.

Once he vented a little, he took out his cell phone and gave George Wood’s agent, Billy Woox a call.

“You rarely take the initiative to call me, Mr. Tony Twain.” Came Woox’s sneaky and slick voice on the phone.

But Twain had no time to quibble with him today. He went straight to the point and asked, “Did the people at AC Milan looked for you?”

“You’re very well informed, Mr. Twain.” Woox did not deny it.

“Do you believe their nonsense that they are going to cure Sophia?”

“They are very sincere.”

“Do you think Sophia’s illness can be cured by spending more money?” Twain suppressed his anger.

“It does not matter what I think. What is important is what George thinks.”

“You’d better turn them down.”

“I’m really sorry, Mr. Twain. You are not my employer.”

Twain heard Woox’s leisurely voice and was so angry that he almost threw his phone. But he finally managed to restrain himself. Then his tone softened, “Well, I hope you can persuade George, Mr. Billy Woox. I don’t think his move to AC Milan is a good choice, let alone for that reason…”

Woox did not say yes. He just asked in return, “Did you just talk to George, Mr. Twain?”

“Yeah.”

“It looks like you did not succeed.” Woox lightly chuckled, “Mr. Twain, I think there’s something you’ve never figured out.”

“What is it?”

“When it comes to George, my words are not as effective as yours. How can I persuade him if you can’t even convince him?”

Twain was stunned. He really did not think about this. He always thought that George must listen to what Woox said.

But…

“You’re not lying to me, are you?”

“Why would I lie to you, Mr. Twain? You haven’t even observe this after knowing George for so long?”

Twain was speechless.

“All right, thank you, Mr. Woox.” Twain was completely out of his anger. He hung up, sat dazedly in the car for a while, and drove it to Wilford.

※※※

George Wood did not show up in the morning training. The incident caused a stir within the team—for this was the first time George Wood was absent from the training since he became a member of Nottingham Forest.

Relating to his unusual behavior over the past few days, everyone was speculating if anything had happened to George Wood.

Kerslake came to Twain, because everyone knew that Twain and Wood had the best bond like “a father and son.”

“He had some trouble.” Twain did not tell his assistant manager the truth, “I granted him leave to deal with it.”

“Oh…” Kerslake suddenly realized, “I’ll say. George is not the kind of person who is absent from training for no reason.”

He shook his head and left, while Twain gave a shrug at the back.

After Kerslake relayed the message to the team, everyone’s suspicions subsided slightly, but a new speculation came up—what kind of trouble did George have? That he would need a special leave to deal with it.

Twain glanced at the media who were filming outside the training ground and called Kerslake over. Then he pointed to the reporters and said, “Inform them that the public filming is over and tell them to leave.”

Kerslake nodded and began to send the reporters out.

But the reporters disagreed.

“The fifteen minutes are not up yet. We can continue filming!”

“Mr. Kerslake, I would like to ask why we did not see George Wood among the team?”

“I heard that he recently had been in touch with AC Milan privately. Does his absence from the training this time have anything to do with that?”

“How much money does AC Milan need to offer for George Wood in order for Nottingham Forest to release him?”

“Will selling the team captain cause the fans to complain? Are you worried about this?”

…

They buzzed like a flock of flies and made a din in the corner of the training ground, causing everyone to look over.

Twain finally walked over himself.

“Now is not the time to answer questions, ladies and gentlemen.” His cold look scared some reporters. “Time’s up. Please leave.”

“Mr. Twain, please answer some questions about George Wood’s transfer rumors…”

“That’s all fucking nonsense!” Twain burst out with a cuss word, causing a commotion among the reporters.

“Before my mood turns for the worse, you’d better leave, or I’ll cancel the regular press conference this afternoon.” Having said that, Twain took another look at Pierce Brosnan.

Brosnan understood what he meant. It looked like the exchange between him and George Wood did not go well at all…

He nodded and was the first one to leave.

Other reporters followed him behind and began to disperse one by one.

The last person to leave was Carl Spicer, who deliberately trailed at that back with his Sky TV interview crew. He even smiled brilliantly at Twain when he left.

Twain’s black face had been imprinted in his eyes.

Twain knew that the new installment of <Football Matters…> must have some stuff about him and George Wood. But he did not care about this minutia.

※※※

Sophia was surprised to see her son open the house door and walk in again.

“Forgot to take something?”

George shook his head and sat gasping for breath on the living room couch as soon as he came in. Sophia only then noticed her son’s flushed face and breathlessness.

“What’s the matter, George?” His mother put aside her chore, wiped her hands clean, came to sit down next to Wood and looked at her son with her head tilted.

“Mom, how about we live in a different city for a change?” Wood looked up at his mother.

Sophia was a little surprised, “Why change to another city? We are going well in Nottingham and there’s your job… You want to transfer?” She suddenly understood.

“There’s a club in Italy who wants me to go, and they promise to treat you…”

Sophia looked at Wood seriously and asked, “Why do you play football, George?”

“For your treatment…”

“But I’ll die eventually. Even if I’m no sick, I’ll still die. What are you going to do when I’m gone? Are you going to stop playing football and follow me to death?”

In the face of an increasingly serious-looking Sophia, George Wood was speechless.

“George, it’s your job to play football. You’re playing for yourself, not for me. If you say you want to play in Italy because of your own pay package, I don’t have a problem. But don’t say it’s for me. Do you really want to play in Italy?”

Wood continued to remain silent.

Sophia looked at her son’s pigheadedness and sighed, “To be honest, George… I know my health very well. Spending more money will not cure me. So much of your salary has been used on my health for so many years. And what is the result?” She smiled but looked a little sad.

“Your mom hasn’t thought about that matter for a long time. I just want to see you healthy and happy while I’m still alive. Find a girl, George. You are always single, and that worries me …”

Wood tried to shake his head, but his mother used her hands to hold him still. Wood stopped shaking the moment he felt his mother’s cool hands on his cheeks.

“Don’t shake your head. If you really have my best interests, then stop being willful, George.”

Wood nodded as he listened to his mother’s gentle but slightly weak voice.

“George, remember. There’s no son in the world who’s always with his mother. People will look at that kind of thing in a different light. You have to have your own life, a life that is completely your own and nothing to do with your mother. Do you understand?”

Wood continued to nod.

Sophia looked at her son and smiled tenderly. She kissed Wood on the cheek and said, “Go to your training, George. Don’t let Mr. Twain wait too long.”

“Mom…” Wood looked at his increasingly frail mother, as if he was worried that he would never see her again when he turned around and went out. “Can I stay with you for half a day? I’ll go to the afternoon training…”

“No, George.” Sophia wagged her finger and said, “You can’t look for an excuse to good off. What makes you succeed, George? What are you worrying about? Go to training, that’s your job.”

Sophia stood up and looked at Wood.

Wood could not bear the look in her eyes, so he stood up and said, “Okay, I’m leaving. Goodbye, Mom.”

Sophia waved at him, “Oh, if you’ve a fight with Mr. Twain, remember to apologize to him. You shouldn’t contradict him.”

“Mom?” Wood was surprised.

“Don’t think I did not see the jeep parked in front of our door.” Sophia winked. “Think about who gave you the chance at that time? He really has your best interests, George.”

Wood nodded again. It was time to say goodbye to his mother and get back out of the door again.

When the door was closed, the smile on Sophia’s face disappeared, and the shining light in her eyes faded, replaced by a low sigh.

※※※

George Wood arrived at the training ground while the training was nearly halfway through. At the moment, no media was around.

His teammates looked curiously at him and Twain.

“I want to apologize to you, boss.” George Wood stood in front of Twain and said with his head bowed, “I shouldn’t…”

Twain interrupted him, “You don’t have to apologize to me. The people who need to accept your apology are all the players on the team. You are the captain and their role model. Everyone’s eyes are on you. What you need to get late for training is the understanding from them, and not from me.” Twain waved his hands and said, “Go and apologize to them.”

So, George Wood obediently walked up to his teammates who were training. Twain signaled to Kerslake to stop the training and gather everyone to listen to Wood apologize.

“I would like to apologize for my lateness to training to everyone. I’m sorry that I’m late for training as the captain…” Wood spoke slowly to make sure everyone could hear what he said.

His teammates opposite him all had different expressions on their faces. Some of them had a sudden realization, some looked confused and some looked expressionless.

After Wood’s apology, Twain stepped forward to announce the rule for George Wood’s penalty—he would be on the substitutes’ bench for the first round of the league tournament because he was late for training. At the same time, he would be fined ten thousand pounds. In addition, the training program had been delayed due to his lateness which must be supplemented by additional training.

No one disagreed. Not even George Wood would ask for privileges because he was captain. The discipline that Twain had always emphasized was fully reflected at this moment.

※※※

At the regular press conference in the afternoon, the media, which was scolded by Twain in the morning, intended to collectively give him a show of strength—after the press officer walked into the conference with Twain to announce the official start of the press conference, these reporters left their seats in succession. Within a very short period of time, they all left the venue! In the instant, there was only Pierce Brosnan left in the press room…

The press officer’s face looked extremely embarrassed. Even Pierce Brosnan did not expect his peers to actually do such a thing… He turned around and looked back at the two men on the stage.

The surprised expression appeared only on Twain’s face at first, and he soon masked it.

Now he was smiling at the empty press conference.

“Mr. Reporter, do you have any questions to ask?” He said to Brosnan, who sat in the middle.

“Ah… Oh, uh…” Brosnan still had not recovered from the shock that this scene had caused him.

Twain whispered to the press officer, who strode to the door. He did not want to let what he was about to say be heard by the ears outside the door. Since they wanted to play this game, then they should not expect to receive any news!

The door was closed with a heavy sound and the reporters waiting at the door, retreated as if startled by the sound of gunfire.

“Well, Mr. Brosnan. You don’t have to be nervous. There are only the two of us here now. You can ask any questions you want. I’ll tell you all that I know and hold nothing back. This is to thank you for giving me special preferential treatment by tipping me off!” Twain sat on the stage and smilingly looked at Pierce Brosnan.

“Well, okay. George Wood and AC Milan…”

“He’ll stay at Nottingham Forest and not go anywhere.” Twain interrupted Brosnan’s question and said, “He’s the red flag of Nottingham Forest. Have you ever seen an army that lost its flag? You can tell the Forest fans to put their minds at ease. Their captain has never considered abandoning them. Whether it was before, now or in the future, he will be here. You might as well give him the ‘Robin Hood’ label. Anyway, he has plenty of labels, this will only be just one more. Have you ever seen Robin Hood leave Sherwood Forest? No? Me neither. Robin Hood is the only one. Sherwood Forest has meaning because of Robin Hood, but a Robin Hood who leaves Sherwood Forest will not be Robin Hood.”