Godfather Of Champions

Twain was enraged when Manchester United levelled the score by scoring the penalty.

Regardless of how brilliant a manager might be, he will not be able to control the kinds of set pieces that would turn up during a match. He can only remind the players to commit less fouls, especially in dangerous areas.

However, a football match does not usually progress in the way you have planned for it to before the match. There would always be all sorts of unexpected events that occur on the pitch. For example, the penalty kick that was awarded to Manchester United as a result of them taking the free kick quickly.

If Twain was a TV commentator right now, he would have commended Manchester United for the sudden shift that they made. It amply demonstrated how crafty and intelligent Manchester United and Ferguson were.

However, Twain was their opponent right now. He could only grumble and swear at them.

Ultimately, the Nottingham Forest players are at fault for the whole incident. If the players had not let down their guard and lost their focus collectively, then how could Ronaldo possibly have managed to take advantage of such a chance? A total of five minutes had passed when Ronaldo first picked up the ball till the moment he was fouled in the penalty box by Pepe. During that period of time, the Nottingham Forest players made no response and were all dumbstruck.

If this were a basketball match, then Twain would have called for a timeout immediately and called all the players to him. He would then give all of them a merciless dressing-down and make them fear losing their focus collectively during matches again in the future.

Twain really likes the timeout rule that is implemented in basketball as a result of the aforementioned points. He would get a total of seven chances every match to readjust his team or berate the players’ bad performance.

Unfortunately, implementing such a rule in football would only ruin the excitement and the flow of football matches, so he can only fantasize about it for now.

Twain hollered angrily at the pitch and kept flailing his arms to express his unhappiness at the players. As for how many of those players actually heard, saw and took his actions to heart, that was out of his control.

“All right, lads! The score has been levelled! Start focusing on the match! None of you have the right to get distracted again!”

※※※

Ferguson was very pleased with the goal, even though he knows that Twain would definitely make comments such as Manchester United ‘is under the care of both the referee and the Football Association’ or ‘everyone is against Nottingham Forest’ after the match.

But, you need to give the loser an out right?

What was most important was that they had levelled the score, and the match was back to square one.

Now that Nottingham Forest’s morale has been affected by the goal, the final victory would definitely belong to Manchester United.

What he needed to do now was to get his players to keep up the momentum and continue to apply pressure on Nottingham Forest. They should make use of this period of time where Nottingham Forest’s players are still a little distracted to get another goal under their belt. Doing so would completely destroy Forest’s fight.

He came up with very good points, but sadly the reality was contrary to his thoughts.

※※※

Nottingham Forest did not get flustered because Manchester United had scored a goal. They were able to quickly form a defense line whenever Manchester United strengthened their offense.

Manchester United’s striker, Carlos Tevez, was marked tightly and had no chance to score a goal. All he could do was to attempt long shots at goal outside the penalty box. He continued to waste chance after chance that his teammates had created for him.

Ferguson shook his head vigorously as he watched the match by the side of the pitch. Eventually, he could take it no longer, and he substituted Tevez for Paul Scholes at the 70th minute. Even though Ferguson had used a midfielder to substitute a forward, but in actuality, Manchester United’s offensive abilities did not weaken as a result. In fact, they had actually been strengthened.

Wouldn’t it be better to just play a true midfielder if Tevez also had to carry out midfield duties?

Don’t underestimate the 36 year-old Scholes. His professionalism and good lifestyle habits have allowed him to stay in good shape. He would not disappoint Ferguson every time the team needed him.

Scholes improved the team’s organizational and goal-scoring abilities at the midfield ever since he got on the pitch.

Of course, he also had to face a formidable opponent after he started playing: George Wood. Twain would not allow a player like Scholes to roam about freely outside their penalty box. This means that Wood will definitely mark Scholes, which would help the other Manchester United players get more chances to score.

Sure enough, after Scholes got on the pitch, Wood began acting as though he had automatically received some kind of signal, and immediately stuck close to Scholes.

Scholes was unable to shake off Wood regardless whether he moved in front or behind, so he could only pass the ball horizontally after finding an angle.

It was only when Wood had been attracted to defend another area that Scholes had the chance to do a long shot at goal. His shot was on target and was a threat.

Igor Akinfeev performed well. He pounced on Schole’s shot and blocked it.

Ever since Scholes got on the pitch, the balance in the midfield for both teams had been altered. Manchester United, who had more players in the midfield, continued to attack Nottingham Forest’s goalpost fiercely.

Their attacks exposed Şahin’s incompetence in defending. He was constantly on the losing end against Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick’s physical battles.

Even though Twain wished to persist with his plans on how to attack Manchester United at Old Trafford, keeping Şahin on the pitch would not change their current situation. Twain needed to make changes to his team as well.

On the 75th minute, Twain substituted Şahin for Tiago.

“Is the action of putting two defensive midfielders on the pitch a signal that the team is going to focus on defense from here on out?” The commentator said, “Maybe Tony Twain thinks that it is enough to only get a point at Old Trafford. After all, they are the away team, and they are also up against Manchester United…”

The commentator was trying to give Twain an out for his imminent failure. However, Twain did not want to follow the way out that had been given to him. He wanted to go against everyone else and against all odds.

Putting two defensive midfielders on the pitch actually acts as the foundation for their offense. Twain’s ideology is that offense starts from defense. Your offense will only improve when your defense is solid. This is why he would never simply put a center forward on the pitch and remove a defender when he wants to strengthen the team’s offense.

By putting two defensive midfielders on the pitch, Nottingham Forest would be able to curb Manchester United’s offense and regain the upper hand in the midfield. Subsequently, the team would be able to start their own offense from the midfield and charge straight for Manchester United’s goalpost.

If they are not able to regain control over the midfield, then the only attacking option left for them is to get a defender to do a long shot from the back to the center forward at the front. This is the kind of offense that the opposing defenders love, because they are able to defend against such attacks effortlessly.

Wood and Tiago both have the ability to pass the ball forward. At the same time, they were both able to defend as well. Tiago was able to help Forest regain balance in the midfield after he got on the pitch.

Neither Wood nor Tiago was afraid to get into physical battles with Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick. They were also able to take turns taking care of Scholes.

Both teams were evenly matched after the substitutions that both managers made. Eventually, the match reached a stalemate and neither side was able to get good chances to score a goal.

※※※

“I think Ronaldo should step up to the plate and do his job as a star player in the team. Manchester United’s offense is clearly in a predicament. The team is no longer able to break through Nottingham Forest’s defense as easily as before with their team play. This is the time where individual techniques would be more effective than passing the ball about. He should try making his way into the penalty box more often.”

The commentator was offering suggestions for Manchester United.

Besides the penalty that he scored, Ronaldo’s performance has been rather insipid throughout the match so far. He had even disappeared from the match for a period of time after he got stomped on the ankle by Pepe.

Perhaps his overall condition had been affected because of his ankle injury?

Nonetheless, this was indeed a time where Ronaldo has to step up to the plate and display his abilities.

Ronaldo has been searching for a chance to make his way into Forest’s penalty box all this while. There were a few times during Forest’s offense where he stayed at the front of the pitch and waited for a chance for Manchester United to go on the counterattack instead of tracking back to defend.

On the 79th minute, he was able to get that very chance. Vidic intercepted the ball that Tiago tried to pass to van Nistelrooy and then passed it over to Scholes. ‘Ginger’ subsequently passed the ball over to Ronaldo, and Manchester United was on the counterattack!

George Wood did not join in the team’s offense earlier. He had stayed behind at the back of the pitch and was geared up to defend all this while. He went up to Ronaldo right as the latter picked up the ball. Wood started to accelerate after running for a few steps because Ronaldo had accelerated as well.

Ronaldo brought the ball forward down the flank amidst the fans’ cheers.

There were only Pepe, Jonathan Woodgate and Igor Akinfeev in front of him. When he was about five to six meters away from penalty box, he abruptly cut inside.

Two bullet trains that had originally been travelling on different tracks met each other right then.

Wood timed himself and performed a sliding tackle the very moment Ronaldo cut inside. He tackled the ball and also brought down Ronaldo in the process!

Deafening boos erupted at Old Trafford. The sounds were enough to stop a person’s heart.

“That is a foul!” The commentator shrieked.

He was stating the obvious. It was clearly a foul. The referee blew on his whistle and ran over to Ronaldo. Ronaldo’s body was curled up as he clutched his leg. It seemed like he had sustained a rather bad injury. The leg that Wood tackled was the same leg that had been stomped on by Pepe earlier.

Wood did not go up to Ronaldo to comfort him by giving him a few friendly pats on the body. Neither did he try to defend his actions. He simply climbed to his feet and did not even spare the pitiful Ronaldo a second glance.

In his mind, it was a foul that he needed to commit. It is better to commit a foul at the flanks than to commit a foul in the middle of the pitch, and it is better to commit a foul outside the penalty box than in it.

He did not think that he did something wrong. As for injuring Ronaldo with his tackles? That was not his intention. It was just a by-product that came with his tackle…

The referee did not care about what Wood had in mind. He called him over to him, and fished out a yellow card from his pocket.

※※※

Tony Twain heaved a sigh of relief by the pitch. He had thought that Wood would be shown a red card and sent off the pitch for the foul, especially after hearing the ear-splitting boos in the stadium. But, now it seemed like Wood was in luck!

“Ha! Good one!” Twain, who was now relaxed, started commending Wood.

This time, it was Ferguson’s turn to be all enraged.

He rushed to the side of the pitch and grabbed the fourth official. He then unleashed his special ‘hair dryer’ attack on him as he pointed at the pitch, “You only give a yellow card for that kind of foul?! Then what kind of foul will be punishable by a red card? When their players break my player’s leg or his heart? That penalty is too f*cking awful!”

“Sir Ferguson, please watch your words…” The fourth official felt a little disgruntled. He was extremely unlucky to have been assigned to be the fourth official for this match. He was stuck between two managers with fiery tempers. One was old and one was young. He was just like a hotdog between two buns.

“My player is injured! He is moaning on the ground and you want me to watch my words? I am the one who wants you to watch your enforcement standards! That was definitely a red card offense! Great, now Tony Twain can’t say that the Football Association favors Manchester United after this match! I’m the one who gets to say it!”

The fourth official decided not to rebut him. He was just going to jot down the behaviors of both managers into his match report and submit it to the Football Assocation.

Let them be the bad guys…

Ferguson’s face was flushed after he finished chastising the fourth official. He huffed and puffed as he walked back to the manager’s seat, and was intent on calling Nani to go and do his warm-ups.

Ronaldo looked like he had suffered a fairly serious injury. It took a total of four minutes to treat him as he laid on the pitch.

The Manchester United fans at the stands who were swearing at Wood and Nottingham Forest all believed that Ronaldo had his leg broken by Wood.

The foul on Ronaldo looked extremely terrifying. Ronaldo flew into the air and his body did a half flip before he landed face down on the ground heavily. George Wood was just like a bulldozer that had bulldozed Ronaldo the tree.

“Let us not discuss about Tony Twain’s chances of managing Manchester United for now. At any rate, I think that George Wood will definitely not play for Manchester United in his entire life… How many times has he assaulted a Manchester United player in all the games played between Forest and Manchester United so far? He’s lucky to have escaped the red card from the referee this time, but he would surely not escape the wrath of the Manchester United fans. Listen to the boos, they are enough to kill a man!”

The cameras did a close-up shot of Wood. He kept a long face and remained unmoved.

※※※

The injured Ronaldo was eventually replaced by Nani. Even though Ronaldo was able to hobble to his feet in the end, Ferguson did not allow him to keep playing in the game because he wanted to protect him from further injury.

All players who like to bring the ball forward would receive such a treatment from the opposing defenders. It was certainly not the first time that Ronaldo was tackled in such a fashion. He is truly lucky to be able to last in the game till this day…

However, Ronaldo had most probably lost all favorable impressions he had of George Wood.

Fabregas and Kaka either saw Wood as someone they should treat seriously, or had hoped to have him as their team mate.

Cristiano Ronaldo longed for George Wood to disappear from this world.

The match that had been stopped for 6 minutes finally restarted after Ronaldo got off the pitch. However, the boos from the fans did not stop. Every time George Wood picked up the ball, a wave of violent boos would come his way. Fortunately for him, he mainly played in the middle of the pitch. If he had been playing down the flank, there might even have been items thrown at him along with the boos…

Nani was once touted as the second Cristiano Ronaldo. There were some similarities between his finishing and Ronaldo’s, but the two were still very different in terms of their overall abilities and experience.

Nani gave his all after he got on the pitch. He wanted to prove that he was able to become the hero that is capable of helping the team triumph over a strong opponent.

Unfortunately, Tiago and the rest of Forest’s defenders had marked him aggressively and he was not able to get many good chances to score.

Manchester United had substituted Ronaldo for Nani. Likewise, Twain also substituted the exhausted van Nistelrooy for Ibišević.

Ibišević had scored a total of 12 goals in all competitions so far. He scored 9 goals in the Premier League and 3 goals in both the EFL Cup and Champions League combined.

Most people do not think that Carl Spicer would be able to win in the bet that Twain made with him earlier. The only way he would win is if Ibišević were to suddenly suffer from a serious injury and miss out on playing in all the remaining matches. If not, it is likely that Ibišević would keep scoring goals based on his current momentum.

The reason why Twain decided to put Ibišević on the pitch this late in the game was because he hoped Ibišević would be able to create some chances for the team by attacking Manchester United’s defense.

However, both Vidic and Rio Ferdinand have been quite solid with their defense so far. Ibišević was not able to get many chances when the two of them defended against him at the same time.

The match continued to remain in a stalemate. Both sides were able to gain a few chances, but no one capitalized on them.

Ibišević fired a shot at goal from close range, but it whizzed past the goalpost. Berbatov also had a shot that was blocked by Akinfeev, but Akinfeev was not able to hold onto the ball, which led to a moment of chaos in Forest’s penalty box. In the end, George Wood was able to get to the ball ahead of Rooney, and he kicked the ball away from the penalty box.

Of course, his interception attracted boos from the Manchester United fans once again, because the fans believed that he had touched the ball with his hand prior to kicking the ball away.

On the 88th minute of the match, the score between the two teams remained 1:1. However, no one knew if that score would persist till the end of the match, because starting from the 85th minute, both teams had given up on defense, as though it was something that had been coordinated beforehand.

Both teams went back and forth as more and more chances to attack the other party arose, and the number of misses committed by both sides also steadily increased.

Evidently, neither side wished for the match to end as a draw.

Both managers nervously watched every change that unfolded on the pitch by the side. They were both hoping that their team would score a goal that would break the current deadlock.

“I understand that neither of them wishes for the match to end as a draw, but I must say that reality is cruel, and it is telling them that there is a high chance that the match would end as a draw. The fourth official has held up the board and we are getting… 6 additional minutes! That is really long, but it is normal considering the time that had been lost because of Ronaldo’s injury…”

If this were any other day, Twain would have flown into a rage by the side of the pitch over the six minutes of added time. He would have thought that the referee was being too explicitly biased towards the other team. However, right now, he actually hoped that the referee would give them another six minutes of added time, on top of the six minutes that he had just given.

Twain clapped his hands by the side of the pitch and reminded his players to continue with their attacks.

※※※

On the 92nd minute, Forest’s attack was ruined by Agbonlahor who lost the ball. Manchester United immediately went on the counterattack at a breakneck pace.

The ball quickly made its way to the front of the pitch after some passes. Rooney made use of his pace to trouble Baines at the flank, before he passed the ball into the middle of the penalty box. His action caught both Jonathan Woodgate and Igor Akinfeev off guard, which is why Woodgate did not have the time to reach when Berbatov stopped Rooney’s ball with his chest.

The striker who cost Manchester United 30 million pounds did not choose to shoot for goal at once. Instead, he stopped the ball with his chest before performing an ingenious shot at goal. The ball was sent in the direction that was beyond Akinfeev’s reach…

“The ball has gone in! The ball has gone in!” The commentator roared crazily. “2:1! Manchester United leads!”

The Manchester United fans at the stadium all went wild. They rushed to the front of the stands and began shouting Berbatov’s name as they flailed their arms about.

It did not matter how far the Manchester United’s players were from Berbatov. They all ran up to him with their arms outstretched and wanted to give him a hug.

Ferguson even jumped into the air by the side of the pitch. He was as happy as a kid who had just gotten a candy. All the players who were sitting on the bench were all locked in an embrace as well.

“A goal on the 92nd minute! This is a last-minute goal! A last-minute goal! What a miracle! Manchester United has managed to do a comeback against Nottingham Forest after being a goal down! Berbatov’s goal sends Forest into the abyss! Pepe committed an unforgivable error! He missed when he tried to head Rooney’s ball away! I wonder what was in his mind at that very moment?”

※※※

Twain did not emulate Pepe, who was hugging his head with both hands in vexation. He flailed his arms about by the side of the pitch and yelled at the players, “Put the ball on the center circle! There’s still time! There’s still time! Don’t f*cking give up!”

How could his voice be picked up by anybody in such a cacophonous environment?

However, it seemed like Forest’s captain, George Wood, was on the same page as him. He picked up the ball from the net and ran over to the center circle. While Manchester United’s players continued to celebrate wildly, he had placed the ball on the center circle. After doing so, he turned around and slapped some of his disenchanted team mates on their backs, “It’s not over yet! It’s not over yet!”

Subsequently, he ran over to the referee to remind him that Manchester United’s celebration time was taking too long.

The referee looked at his watch. It was indeed taking too long. However, there were only three minutes left in the match.

Don’t tell me you lot still want to level the score? That’s nothing more than a delusion…

That might be what he thought, but the referee still carried out his professional duties. He ran over to pull the Manchester United players back onto the pitch, and gestured for them to continue with the match. After all, the match was not over yet.

Every single Manchester United player who returned to their positions were brimming with happiness and they could not hide the smiles on their faces. They were all very pleased and happy to be able to triumph over Nottingham Forest in the dying minutes of the game. They were not going to feel this good a second time.

You injured one of us through your tackle. We are going to make all of you pay the price with a loss!

The goalkeeper, Ben Foster, even turned around to the fans and gestured for them to get riled up and sing the songs louder.

Forest tried to do a long pass to get the ball to the front of the pitch for an attack when the match restarted. However, such a frenzied attack was easily stopped by Manchester United’s players, and that gave Forest yet another setback.

“Without Şahin, Forest can only rely on long passes in their offense. This makes their attacks predictable and crude. Such attacks don’t work against the two burly Manchester United center backs. Eastwood is not a center forward who is good with long passes and Ibišević doesn’t look he’s gotten himself into the game either…”

The commentator felt that Forest was merely struggling on its deathbed.

Van Nistelrooy, who had been substituted earlier, stood by the side of the pitch alongside Twain with the team’s jacket draped over his shoulders. He stared anxiously at everything that was happening on the pitch.

He certainly did not want the match to end in such a manner. He might have played for Manchester United in the past, but he is a player for Nottingham Forest now. He desperately wanted to defeat Manchester United, and defeat Ferguson.

“Keep at it! Don’t be fazed! You can do it!” He cheered his team mates just like how a manager would.

The 93rd minute of the match had passed by amidst Manchester United’s players and fans’ wild celebrations. They used one full minute to celebrate, and this one minute of game time would not be compensated. Thus, in actuality, they were only going to play five minutes of added time instead of the six that had been given to them at the start.

On the 94th minute, Nottingham Forest’s offense continued to be in a mess. Their simple long balls were unable to threaten Manchester United’s goalpost at all. On the other hand, Manchester United nearly scored once again. Rooney’s long shot hit the crossbar and ricocheted off the pitch. His shot had silenced the fans’ cheers for a moment.

On the 95th minute, Nottingham Forest was able to earn a corner kick. Akinfeev wanted to rush forward to help, but he was reprimanded by Twain for his actions and was sent back to defend the goalpost.

Pepe rushed to the front of Manchester United’s goalpost, intent on getting a goal to atone for his mistake. Unfortunately, he pushed Vidic down while he jumped up to try and head the ball.

The referee mercilessly blew on his whistle and penalized his foul, which resulted in another lost chance for Forest. Pepe wanted to argue with the referee that he had not pushed Vidic, but rather, it was the latter who had committed a dive instead. However, Pepe was pulled away by Wood. What good does it do to argue with the referee about such things at a time like this? It was just a waste of time!

“It’s hopeless for Nottingham Forest. There’s only half a minute left till the end of the match. Also, it’s Manchester United’s ball. As long as they don’t give the ball away, they would be able to make it past the remaining half minute without a hitch…”

Manchester United’s fans were already singing and dancing at the stands to celebrate their victory.

Manchester United’s players did not choose to pass the ball around the back of the pitch to drag out the game, because both Ibišević and Eastwood kept charging wildly at them to try and snatch the ball away. The defenders were worried that they would commit an error and their opponents would intercept the ball and go on the counterattack. Therefore, they chose to send the ball to the front of the pitch, and get the ball far away from their own goalpost.

Pepe did not miss the ball this time round when he jumped up to head the ball. He managed to stop the ball with a powerful header.

Rooney ran into the middle of the pitch and was going to pick up the ball and shoot for goal once more.

However, Tiago stopped him from doing that with his body.

There was chaos right before Forest’s penalty box.

Wood rushed out from within the chaos and kicked the ball towards the front of the pitch.

No matter how one looked at it, all Wood was doing was to get the ball away from their own half…

The ball flew like a missile over to where Ferdinand stood.

At the same time, Ibišević also charged at the ball. He was the only one left on the pitch who had the energy to make such a run, because he only got on the pitch for a short period of time. Eastwood wanted to chase after the ball as well, but he realized he did not have the energy to do it, so all he could do was to stand near the center circle and watch.

Not too long later, both Ibišević and Ferdinand began fighting for the ball.

Ferdinand was unable to head the ball forward due to Ibišević’s interference. Instead, he sent the ball backwards…

However, he was about 10 meters away from the goalkeeper, Ben Foster. The ball would not make its way into Foster’s hands.

He had created the kind of ball that Ibišević was looking for!

Ibišević ran past Ferdinand, who had lost his balance, and pounced straight at the ball.

“An error! Ferdinand has committed an error! Was that not a foul? The referee has gestured for play to go on! This is Nottingham Forest’s last chance! Ibišević got to the ball and Foster is rushing out in a frenzy…”

Immense boos rang out.

Amidst the boos, Ibišević raised his feet to kick at the ball while it was still in mid-air!

Foster pounced towards the ball, but the ball slipped past him right under his armpit!

Everyone in Old Trafford watched as the ball passed by Ben Foster and the goal line, and collided against the net…

“Unbelievable! Unbelievable! Un… believable!”

Ibišević ran up to the side of the pitch and started doing his celebratory action of slapping his face after scoring the goal. However, this was the hardest he slapped himself out of all the 12 slaps he did in the past. This was a goal that levelled the score. This was a goal that pulled Nottingham Forest back up from the edge of the cliff! This was a goal of exceptional significance!

“This is just like a dream… Nottingham Forest has actually levelled the score in the final minute of the game! They have really done it! I take back everything that I said three minutes ago. The goal from Manchester United was not the last goal of the match that would get them all 3 points! Manchester United thought they had won the game, but Nottingham Forest has come out and told them, ‘No! The match is not over! It doesn’t matter if there’s only half a minute left, we can still score a goal!’! What a brilliant goal! Super Ibi!”

Tony Twain got carried away with his celebrations amidst the commentator’s passionate voice. He performed a flip to express the excitement that he was feeling. After he had finished his flip, he faced the stands and flailed his clenched fist about as a demonstration towards the Manchester United fans. This time round, no one booed him…

“This is truly one crazy stoppage time… Both teams scored two goals in the final 6 minutes of the game. Neither won and neither lost. Nonetheless, the last 6 minutes of the match were very worthwhile!”

The Manchester United players stood rooted at the ground and were all left dumbstruck. Nottingham Forest had tied the score at the very last second of the game. Most of the players were unable to accept such a result. Three minutes ago they had all believed that they were the victors. Three minutes later they all felt like they were the losers…

Nottingham Forest’s players swarmed up to Ibišević and pushed him down onto the ground. They then flung their bodies on top of him and on top of one another. They were celebrating wildly, but the referee would not get in their way, because the match was over. Nottingham Forest had levelled the score with Manchester United with this goal on the 96th minute.

Perhaps, to the Twain before the start of the match, such a result would not be pleasing. However, to the Twain from 3 minutes ago, this was the perfect result…

“We have demonstrated our bravery.” Twain said those words in his post-match interview.