Godfather Of Champions

Chapter 774: 1:0

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Ferguson felt that everything was within his control, but it was Nottingham Forest who scored a goal first.

Ten minutes after the game started, Nottingham Forest’s formation slightly withdrew. Manchester United saw it as a sign that the Forest team gave up playing defensive counterattack in the front field. They began to press on their offensive and seize the initiative.

When they first pressed into the midfield, they encountered more resistance than they could have imagined. Nottingham Forest did not fully return to their half to lay out the defense in one shot. They were only not press up to the center line like they did in the first ten minutes.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s dribbling was caught in a converging attack by Rafinha and Agbonlahor. He had intended to force a breakthrough, but when he looked up and caught a glimpse of George Wood standing not far away, he changed his mind at the last minute.

The ball was passed to Carrick in the middle. Ronaldo ran forward and wanted to do a two-over-one pass with Carrick. But Carrick’s stance was not very good when he received the ball and he had to slightly adjust to pass the ball to Ronaldo. That was what got him tangled up by Wood.

If he forced a turn to pass the ball, he would be tackled. So, Carrick sent the ball back.

After Ferdinand received the ball, van Nistelrooy worked hard to rush over to make a grab. He wanted to pass the ball forward, only to find that there was no suitable target and that almost everyone had the Forest players nearby. He could not hold the ball for long because his space would only be forcibly narrowed by the Forest players and eventually the ball would be intercepted. Helplessly, he passed the ball to his partner, Vidic next to him.

Vidic also met his match, Eastwood.

Unlike what Ferguson, Nottingham Forest did not directly withdraw. Instead, they launched an aggressive scramble in every corner of the pitch.

The Manchester United team really did not expect it.

After a few minutes of careful observation, Ferguson discovered that Nottingham Forest’s overall formation did not really retreat but was still in an offensive formation. But the old manager hesitated. He was unable to ascertain whether this is Twain’s strategy to lure the opponent, or something else …

He intended to continue his observation.

After another five minutes of observation, Nottingham Forest scored.

※※※

In the twentieth minute, Ferdinand received a return pass from his teammates in the backfield. He wanted to pass it to his nearest teammate. Hargreaves had already withdrawn to support. But Nottingham Forest’s Şahin also retreated with him…

He was unable to pass the ball to a player who was tightly pressed by the opposing player and had his back facing the offensive direction. Consequently, he chose to kick a long pass and let Berbatov and the Forest defenders fight for the ball.

Berbatov managed to get ahead of Woodgate and headed the ball. He had planned to pass the football directly to Tevez in the air, but the football was intercepted by George Wood who plugged in from the side.

Seeing the captain tackled the ball, Agbonlahor and Lennon, who had just helped defend in the backfield, changed their roles from defense to offense in a flash. They immediately plugged into the opponent’s half.

Şahin, who had just followed Hargreaves into the opposing half, also pulled back to support George Wood. After Wood passed the football to him, he did not rush on, but stayed where he was. As they had to attack Manchester United at Old Trafford, only Wood, the defensive midfielder was in charge of the defense in the midfield. So, the requirement for defense was even higher. Generally, when there were no special requirements, he would not come forward to participate in the attack.

Şahin received the ball and turned around to dribble the ball forward by a couple of steps before he diverted the ball over to Agbonlahor on the right side.

Agbonlahor relied on his own speed to break past Evra. The two men entangled in the wing.

Twain stood up in the technical area and shouted Agbonlahor’s name to remind him not to hold onto the ball too much.

Maybe he heard Twain’s shouts, or maybe he simply found it difficult to try to break through Evra with such a crude method. Agbonlahor passed the ball anyway.

He sent the ball straight to the other side of the pitch and Lennon received the ball.

The Forest team did not pass the ball into the penalty area in the crude way that Ferguson thought. If they did not have the right chance, they would rather pass the ball back and forth outside and look for a gap.

Gary Neville’s defense was unassailable, and Lennon did not force a breakthrough. He sent the ball back to Leighton Baines’s feet!

Even Baines, the full back with very few assists, came up. Where was their stance for defensive counterattack?

Baines came up, but Wood had not come up yet.

Baines crossed the ball to Şahin, who came back to support. Şahin looked at the side and Rafinha was on the edge. Manchester United’s defensive attention was naturally drawn to the sides when both Baines and Rafinha rushed up. After all, they all knew that Nottingham Forest’s flank attack was world-famous.

Şahin turned toward the right side and looked like he was going to pass the ball to Rafinha. Ronaldo had to keep up to prepare for the defense. Several other Manchester United players, including Evra, turned to that side, as if they were sunflowers following the sunlight…

But Şahin’s body only turned halfway and suddenly passed the football directly to Eastwood in front!

Hargreaves pounced over to Eastwood. He felt that the situation was still in his control because Eastwood received the ball with his back toward the offensive direction. As long as he stopped him from turning around, he would have to pass the football back.

Hargreaves pounced over, intending to stick Eastwood from behind. He did not expect Eastwood to not stop the ball at all. He shifted his body sideways and used one hand to hold back Hargreaves. Then he gave his left ankle a shake and the football directly moved to van Nistelrooy at the back!

Hargreaves’s attention was drawn to the pass. He did not realize Eastwood turn and move inside after he completed the pass.

Van Nistelrooy was the striker placed at the forefront. Although he was already old and had suffered serious injuries, he remained a dangerous player in the eyes of his opponents. Because he was a center forward who could still control the football at his feet under heavy siege. With such an attack fulcrum in the front field, the Forest team’s attack had infinite possibilities. He could shoot to the goal on his own, draw the opposing defensive attention and create chances for his teammates. Like this time…

Vidic and Rio Ferdinand had already lunged at him at the same time even before he received the ball, with one on the left and the other on the right, trying to catch him.

But van Nistelrooy did not plan to dribble the ball himself and then score. He made the same move as Eastwood—his ankle gave a shake to directly cross the ball out.

Eastwood dashed over in time!

He lifted his left leg, which was not his dominant leg and shot a volley directly without stopping!

The ball was slightly slanted but it perfectly fooled Ben Foster. The football scraped inside the goalpost, gave a strange crack sound, and then flew into the goal!

And for this shot, which was close at hand but with matchless strength, Ben Foster did not react. He just turned his head and watched the ball go in…

“A beautiful coordination! Nottingham Forest leads Manchester United 1:0 in the away game! Eastwood has the right form!”

The noisy Old Trafford suddenly went quiet, closely followed by a thunderous booing.

In the midst of the booing, Eastwood skidded on his knees and charged toward the corner flag. His passionate celebration also ignited the enthusiasm of the Nottingham Forest fans. They loudly sang the song composed for Eastwood, “You have Rooney, we have him too! He’s a Romani! He lived in a caravan and rode his horse to warm up. If you look down on him, he’ll teach you a lesson! With a goal! With a goal! Our Romani Rooney! Oh-la-la, Oh-la-la!”

The Manchester United fans hissed on one side and the Nottingham Forest fans chanted on the other side. Old Trafford truly became a “theater.”

※※※

Seeing Eastwood pumping the ball hard at the goal, Twain jumped excitedly on the sidelines like he was the person who scored. He waved his fists and demonstrated to the Manchester United fans in the stands. They obviously responded to him with more aggressive booing…

“Ha, it looks like Tony Twain does not want to please the Manchester United fans. He really doesn’t want to coach at Manchester United at all.”

Ferguson was a little annoyed by this goal concede. His mouth kept moving but he was not chewing gum but cursing fiercely.

“Our defense in the middle is useless! Are they all wood blocks? They just watched the opponent did a wall pass in our penalty area! And f**king scored! Why did Hargreaves not foul? What was he thinking?”

In fact, what incensed Ferguson more than the goal concede was he found that the situation had not been within his control, but in the hands of the young man next door …

He had a sense of defeat.

Although he and Twain had a good personal relationship and also hope that Twain would come to Manchester United, he was still an old man who did not want to lose when it came to the game. He wanted to remain as the master of the whole world, the best manager in this sport, smarter than anyone else, always ahead of the game and everything firmly in hand. No one could beat him unless he did not want to do it anymore.

For more than two decades, he had enjoyed a war of words with Wenger because he had the upper hand most of the time. He also enjoyed fighting with Kevin Keegan because the poor old man was almost driven mad by himself. Mourinho’s arrival did not shake his position in the Premier League either, as Mourinho’s departure proved that he was not qualified enough to be a “powerful man” in the Premier League.

He became Manchester United’s manager before the Premier League was founded. He had weathered through more storms than the other managers had combined. He fought with countless famous managers, but always had the last laugh. Mark Hughes, George Graham, Kenny Dalglish, Souness, Kevin Keegan, Arsène Wenger, Mourinho, Benítez, Scolari, Eriksson, Rijkaard….But it was him, not anyone mentioned above, who was chosen as the decade’s best manager in the Premier League.

He also enjoyed going measure for measure with Tony Twain. But the manager, who was nearly thirty years younger than himself, made him feel really old.

He should have seen through Twain’s crafty plot sooner…

Ferguson scolded Hargreaves and got up from his seat. He was going to the sidelines to direct the game.

Twain noticed that Ferguson had gotten up from the manager’s chair for the first time in the game. He turned his head to look at the old manager and smiled at the old man when he noticed him.

Ferguson’s expression looked ugly. He ignored Twain and reached out to call Neville over while the Forest players celebrated the goal to brief him directly.

After he finished clapping on the sidelines, Twain turned around and walked back with a smile.

According to past management, the Forest team would contract the defense after taking the lead and then fight back against the opponent. If Ferguson still thought so in this game, then Manchester United would be in trouble.

※※※

However, it was clear that Ferguson was much smarter than Twain thought.

He discovered Twain’s true intentions through the goal concede—Nottingham Forest did not intend to play defensive counterattack at Old Trafford at all. Instead, they played offensive football which was unusual for them. It looked like they planned to beat Manchester United using offense.

Ferguson bravely confronted the enemy head-on.

Since you want to attack, then bring it on!

Ferguson adjusted his team’s tactics, stepped up the defense and blocking in the midfield in an effort to control the midfield. Whichever team controlled the midfield in this game, would have a higher chance of winning.

When the game resumed, what the fans saw the most were scenes of the two sides fiercely fighting in the midfield and in a complete mess.

Twain also stepped up the defense in the midfield after realizing Ferguson’s intention. He moved Şahin’s position back to be in line with Wood’s position, leaving the Forest team’s middle looking less empty. The diamond-shaped 4-4-2 formation became the parallel 4-4-2 again. Under pressure from Ferguson, Twain was forced to give up his plan to continue the attack in the away game.

Anyway, with a one-goal lead, he was not in a hurry. He could slowly grind it out with Manchester United in the midfield.

Manchester United gradually regained the upper hand for the rest of the first half, but there were too few threatening shots. Berbatov and Tevez were trapped by the Forest team’s strong overall defense. After Manchester United fully pressed, it objectively caused Nottingham Forest’s defense to shrink. The gaps acquired by Berbatov and the others were greatly reduced. They could only meet force with force many times with the Forest team’s strong center backs near the penalty area.

They could not break through in the middle but were very active on the two sides.

Rooney’s and Ronaldo’s frequent breakthroughs on both sides caused a lot of trouble for the Forest team’s defense. Much of the reason Nottingham Forest was forced to shrink their defense was due to both of them.

Rafinha’s defense was weak, Agbonlahor was not a defensive player, and Wood had to make up for it several times to limit Ronaldo’s sharp attacks.

Nottingham Forest’s defensive tradition played an important role under the circumstances of Manchester United’s fierce attacks. Whoever was facing such a solid defense would have a headache. Even if it was Ronaldo or Rooney.

Manchester United did not score and the score was still at 1:0 until the end of the first half, with Nottingham Forest in the lead.

When Ferguson left the technical area with a grim look, the staff around him knew that the players were going to be in trouble in the locker room during the halftime interval. Never mind that he was sixty-nine years old, he was merciless when it was time for admonishments.

As for the leading Tony Twain, when he left, his face did not look much better. He was not unhappy with the performance of the players on the pitch, but slightly worried about the second half. Ferguson definitely would not be willing to accept this score and result. Furthermore, he had seen through the Forest team’s play, so he would certainly make adjustments during the halftime interval. How should he take up the challenge?

He had originally planned to score two goals in the first half. The current situation was very dangerous for the Forest team. 1:0 was really not a good score…