Godfather Of Champions

Twain looked at George Wood, who was standing opposite him and looking at him as well with a firm look in his eyes. He spoke up first, “George…”

It was then that a loud roar came from the stands, swept over and drowned out what Twain was about to say next. Wood only saw Twain’s mouth opened and closed, but he did not hear what he said.

Did he agree for him to go on to play or not?

Podolski’s long shot had bounced off the crossbar and the sudden cheers came to an end. Only then Wood heard Twain’s last words:

“… Go warm up.”

There was a hint of happy expression in Wood’s face. He knew Twain had agreed to his request. Wood turned around and grabbed the training vest from the seat. He ran toward the warmup area.

His teammates and coaches looked at his back in surprise and did not react yet.

Des Walker walked up to Twain and asked, “Are you going to let him play, Tony?”

Twain nodded.

“But his injury has not fully recovered…”

“This is what I think, Des.” Twain turned his head to look at his partner and said, “George’s physical fitness is different from that of an ordinary person. The minor injury should not hurt him.”

Walker grimaced, “I hope you’re right, Tony. . . If you’re wrong, you’re going to ruin his career.”

Twain did not contradict Walker because he had the same concern deep down – I hope I’m right…

Wood tried his best to suppress his inner excitement. He tried not to do too big warmup movements so as to avoid problems. But he had become the focus of everyone’s attention.

“George?!” Also, in the warmup area was his teammate Gareth Barry who looked a little surprised at Wood doing his leg presses. “Are you going to play?” There was only one last substitution spot left. If Wood was going to be brought on, he would not have to warm up anymore.

“Yes.” Wood nodded.

Barry was taken aback for a moment and reacted. Yes, what the team needed now was defense. In terms of defensive ability, Wood was certainly better than himself. But…

“How’s…. your injury?”

“It’s not a problem!” Wood’s answer was resolute and decisive for fear that other people would infer the truth from his tone.

It was not just Gareth Barry. The other people also noticed Wood warming up on the sidelines.

“Let us take a look at who this is! George Wood!” John Motson’s voice was full of excitement as he shouted, “He’s warming up! Is this a sign that he’s going to make an appearance?”

“The England team’s team doctor admitted before the game that George Wood’s injury has not recovered to the stage where he will be able to appear and compete. So why is he warming up now on the sidelines?” The German commentator was puzzled. It could not be Tony Twain’s plot to use him and mislead the opponent, could it?

The Germany manager Sammer also saw Wood as the warm-up area of both teams was next to the Germany team’s substitutes’ bench. His eyebrows knitted together. If Wood were to play, it would be the signal to strengthen the defense. Wood’s intercepting ability in the midfield was number one in the world. If he was allowed to play, then Germany’s offense would be in trouble.

At the thought of it, he went to the sidelines and signaled to the players on the field to step up the offense. They must equalize the score first before England made adjustments!

The England fans in the stands soon spotted George Wood warming up and got excited. Even though it was the Germany team which currently had possession of the ball, the England fans in the stands suddenly burst into thunderous cheers, “Saint George! Saint George! Saint George is coming back!”

Indeed, when the England team was bombarded by the Germany team, everyone thought Joe Hart’s goal could be conceded at any time. At the time, they wished that there would be someone who could stabilize their mood and keep the German players’ attack out. In the eyes of the fans, George Wood, who was famous for his defense, was the best candidate. Unfortunately, he was injured and could only watch the game on the substitutes’ bench.

But it was different now. Saint George is coming back! We have hope!

The telecast gave Wood a fifteen second close-up, and the fans watching the live telecast in England cheered.

And Sophia, who was sitting at home watching the game, flushed with pride.

※※※

Gerrard knew what it meant when he saw Wood warming up off the field. He suddenly hated his age now. At thirty-six years old, he was not a twenty-six-year-old kid who could still run tirelessly. At present, his mind was willing, but his body was no longer strong enough. The German players could tell his physical strength was on a rapid decline and repeatedly used his position as a point to break through. Two threatening shots at the goal were fired from his side.

He knew George’s foot had not really fully recovered. He would not have taken the risk to play if it had not been for the team’s need to strengthen its defense.

Damn it… If I could be four years younger, I wouldn’t be as weak as I am now.

Podolski, the German striker, went outside the penalty area to attempt a long shot once again. This time, Gerrard crossed in front of him, and a powerful kick struck in the middle of his chest!

After a bang sound, Gerrard fell backwards to the ground and did not get up again. His chest hurt and he was exhausted. He wanted to lie on the ground like this to waste a little more of the game time for the team. It was the last thing he could do for the team.

After seeing Gerrard fall to the ground, Joe Mattock dismissed the idea of launching a counterattack from there and kicked the rebounded football straight toward the stands. Then he signaled to the referee to let the team doctor come forward.

“This is a tactic to waste time in the game!” The German commentator shouted disgruntledly. The German fans in the stands also booed in protest one by one. While it was the England fans who sang and clapped for Gerrard.

When Wright ran onto the field along with the stretcher again, George Wood had already returned to Twain’s side and was taking off his vest.

Twain did not ask Wood how the big toe was on his right foot. Now that he had decided to let Wood play, these questions did not matter anymore.

“There are eight minutes left. Including the injury stoppage time, there are still about ten minutes to the end. George, your task is simple: go up and defend. Cut off the links between the German midfielders and strikers. Don’t let them kick too many long shots along the edge of the penalty area. The German players’ long shot level is very high and cannot be taken lightly.”

Wood nodded and tossed his vest to his teammates. His cheeks were slightly flushed with excitement from being able to play once again after a two-game break.

“Ok, I’m not going to say too much. You know what to do. Go on, George, the stage is yours…” Twain pointed to the green field and pushed him out.

As Wood stood next to the fourth official, waiting to go on, the telecast gave Wood a close-up of his wide and thick back, with the striking number 13 and “WOOD” printed in gold color.

“It’s so reassuring to see the name! Yes, George Wood is back in front of us again after an absence of sixty-five days due to injury! Back to the stage where he competes! At a time when England is in deep need, her keeper, Saint George, descends from the sky and returns glorious!” John Motson excitedly gave all the beautiful words he could think of to the man standing on the sidelines.

With the help of Wright, the team doctor, Gerrard walked slowly off the field. He did not forget to take advantage of it to waste more time. When he got to the sidelines, he reached out to Wood and intended to shake his hand. He did not expect Wood to throw his hand straight at his palm and gave him a powerful high-five.

The two men said nothing. Gerrard walked off with his head down and Wood ran onto the field with his head held high.

The moment Wood stepped onto the pitch, the stands erupted with cheers from the England fans, “Saint George bless England! Saint George bless England! Saint George bless England!” The voices were getting louder and louder, ringing out toward the skies. It completely overwhelmed the German fans’ booing because they were upset with Gerrard’s deliberate wasting of the game time.

“This is a rare sight. Just one substitution produces such a sensational effect…” The Spanish television commentator had to marvel at George Wood’s status in the eyes of the England fans.

Wood ran on to the pitch. Moke, the nearest person to him, reached his hand out to him. Wood acted the same with Moke like he did with Gerrard and high-fived him. Then he continued to high-five Michael Johnson, Wayne Rooney and Aaron Mitchell until he ran to the position that belonged to him.

“Tony Twain has raised the standard of Saint George at the flagship. He is telling the Germans that his fleet will fight to the death and never back down!” Motson raised his fist and waved.

※※※

Toni Kroos found that the other team’s number 13 was just standing in front of him, and it caused him to feel the pressure inexplicably. It was as if it was hard and difficult to break through him.

Schweinsteiger patted him on the back and said, “He’s injured. Keep using him as the breakthrough point! Give me the ball later.”

“I’ve observed his running stance on the field myself, and his right foot still looks uncomfortable. This shows that George Wood’s injury has not recovered yet. Perhaps Twain has brought Wood on just to improve the team’s morale. After all, it’s not a good thing for the England team that they are playing under pressure from us and cannot get out past the midfield. Wood’s actual role does not have much impact. We can still make use of him here!” The German commentator said confidently.

But George Wood soon made all those who doubted him, lost face.

As Schweinsteiger prepared to dribble the ball past Wood, the ball at his feet was kept behind by Wood. When he stumbled at his feet, he seized the opportunity to fall to the ground and raised his hands to ask for a place kick. But the referee ignored him. He signaled for him to quickly get up and not to dawdle on the ground.

The stands broke out again with shouts from the England fans, “Saint George bless England! Saint George bless England!”

“YES!” In the England team’s technical area on the sidelines, the coaches waved their fists with excitement. Previously, everyone had concerns that Wood was just acting brave. Now it looked like he was in a good shape despite not competing in a game for sixty-five days. There was no sign of him being out of practice at all.

Next, it was Toni Kroos’ turn. He slightly hesitated when he dribbled the ball in the middle and George Wood’s tackle caused him to fall to the ground along with the ball. Although that gave the Germany team a free kick, it did not pose much of a threat at thirty-five meters away from the goal…

“Well done, George!” Fat John led his mates in the stands and shouted, “Teach the Germans a lesson!”

“It is really an aggressive defense! This is the world’s number one defensive midfielder, George Wood’s ability!” The commentators of neutral countries exclaimed one by one. The German commentator’s face was black.

Rolfes attempted a long shot. He wanted to do a wide rotation of his thigh to volley the shot, but it took a little longer to prepare in this way. Which allowed George Wood, who was lying in wait, to intercept the ball with a clean tackle. Rolfes kicked the empty air and fell down right away.

“It’s not a foul! Not a foul!” Motson defended Wood. At the same time, the referee’s hand gesture was a relief to the England fans – it was indeed not a foul. It was an absolutely perfect defense.

Rolfes laid on the ground and stared disgruntledly at Wood. However, he almost shuddered instead – George Wood was staring coldly at himself. That expression was as if he was looking at a piece of meat, completely without emotion.

In fact, this was Wood’s most habitual expression. Every time he made someone fall to the ground, he would stare unkindly at the other person like that, as if he were a lion staring at its prey, which made people very uncomfortable. He would not take the initiative to reach his hand out to pull the other person up. He would not deliberately do the sort of things to gain favor with the referee.

Thrice he defended and thrice he caused three different players to fall on the ground, which made the other team look bad. This was who George Wood was. Even if he was hurt, he still could not be taken lightly!

※※※

In the fourth time, Wood blocked Podolski’s powerful long shot.

The fans in the stands did not stop chanting “Saint George” and Motson’s tone remained excited. The England team’s coaching staff on the sidelines cheered Wood’s every successful defense. England’s defense stabilized after Wood came on.

But they did not know that Wood’s right foot had a piercing pain to the heart every time he used force. After all, he was not fully recovered in that area yet. How could such intense movements not implicate his injury? But an outsider could never see any unusual expression on his face. He acted as if he had never been hurt before.

He only came on for five minutes, and his front and back of his jersey was soaked in sweat. He was not tired but in pain.

Twain noticed the sweat stain on Wood’s jersey front, and he guessed the reason. His brow became more furrowed and tighter.

For example, with three minutes to go at the end of the ninetieth minute, there might still be four to five minutes to go for the injury stoppage time. Hopefully in the eight minutes, nothing would go wrong with George Wood’s right foot again.

He had never felt eight minutes going by so slowly like it did today…

※※※

George Wood was almost alone in propping up the defense of the England team’s midfield area. After all, Michael Johnson kept running on the field for more than eighty minutes. His stamina was not as strong as before and was unable to shore up for defensive energy even though he wanted to in his mind. Neither Downing nor Moke were good at defense. With four men in the midfield, only George Wood, who just came on, was able to defend.

Mitchell was already moved by Twain into the penalty area to play as a center back to defend against high-altitude balls. Rooney was left alone in the front and prepared to use his speed to counterattack. But from the 75th minute onwards, he had not been of much use. Rooney was also back in the midfield and actively involved in the defense.

The teammates knew in their hearts that their captain’s injury had not fully recovered, so they could not let him take on the heavy responsibility of defense alone. They had to chip in with the effort no matter how tired they were.

For the next three minutes, George Wood appeared on the camera footage less often. Players like Moke were trying their best to defend. They shared a large portion of the pressure with Wood. But the German players apparently also could tell that Wood was in pain from the sweat stains in front of his chest, so they decided to bombard from Wood’s side. They wanted to use exhausting tactics on Wood to crack open a gap from his side.

The fourth official had just held up a five-minute sign on the sidelines. George Wood had a fierce fight on the edge of the penalty area with Rolfes from the opposing team.

It was a fifty-fifty shot and the Germans were unwilling to give up. George Wood naturally could not step aside and give way. The two men gathered their strength and rushed toward the football. Then they collided with each other spectacularly and the football was deflected first by Wood’s kick, while Rolfes did not kick the ball. Instead, he kicked Wood’s right foot…

A sharp pain from the toe pierced straight into the heart. Wood almost shouted out in pain. But as soon as the voice reached his throat, he immediately slammed his mouth shut. Although his voice was choked off, the sudden expression of pain on his face betrayed his present situation.

It was also at this point that the cameras gave him a close-up shot. Wood’s painful appearance was magnified ten times and appeared on the television screen. The England fans who were cheering for him just now shut their mouths and knew “Saint George” was still injured.

Twain also obviously saw Wood’s expression. His heart suddenly jumped. An ominous feeling came to mind.

But the expression lasted only two seconds. In the next second Wood forcibly stopped his body from falling down. With one hand on the ground, he jumped up again from the ground and chased the football. There was no sign that he was just kicked by someone in the injured area.

He got to the ball before Schweinsteiger and lightly flicked the ball outward. He then quickly stopped and accelerated to dodge Schweinsteiger who rushed too ferociously.

“A beautiful bypass!”

The England fans, who were still worrying about Wood’s right toe just now, gave another deafening round of cheers.

Today’s George Wood was not the silly kid who only knew how to kick long ball once he got the ball. After he evaded Schweinsteiger, he looked up to see the front. He had wanted to launch an attack but was somewhat surprised to find that the front was full of German players wearing white jerseys. Rooney helped with the defense on the sideline. He did not expect Wood would choose to take possession of the ball rather than open a long ball. So, he did not run up to receive it.

He could not let the football stay at his feet for too long, Wood looked at the German goalkeeper, Adler, who had already reached the top of the penalty arc, and directly kicked the ball straight to the Germany team’s goal!

The cheers of the England fans grew louder and louder. Amid these sounds, Adler was in a bit of a hurry to withdraw. Fortunately, the football eventually flew off the crossbar. Otherwise he might have to lose face…

“George Wood has proved his worth as England’s core, both defensively and offensively. Look at him, it is as if there will be no problem as long as he’s here. What a heartening player!” Motson once again gave praise generously.

Even the neutral Spanish fans also gave a round of warm applause to George Wood who played while injured. The people who were dissatisfied with Wood’s performance were probably only the Germans…

※※※

Twain saw such a mature George Wood off the field and felt a real impulse to cry. It was a world of difference from that young boy ten years ago! But he did not forget to protect Wood as he shouted Rooney’s name on the sidelines, telling him not to go to the sideline and to help Wood defend in the middle to share his burden.

Only four minutes to go, they would win once they got through it! At this point, he did not have any joy about winning. He just hoped nothing would happen to Wood’s right toe anymore.

If George Wood was hurt because of this game… He would not forgive himself.

“You mustn’t get hurt again, George…” Twain prayed for Wood in his heart.

Meanwhile, Sophia was also praying for her son.

With Wood around, it became difficult for the Germany team’s offense to get into England’s penalty area. They could only choose to kick more long shots. The England fans could have celebrated the victory of the game ahead of time had it not been for the Germany team’s skilled long shots.

Despite the help from Rooney and other teammates, George Wood remained the focal point of the camera lens. He was so eye-catching because he kept running. His figure was found in any dangerous spots. The camera could not avoid capturing him even if it wanted to.

“Even though he hasn’t fully recovered from his foot injury, his performance is still world class!” Motson exclaimed again, “In the face of such a tenacious George Wood, there’s nothing the Germany team can do! Apart from their long shots, they do not even have a chance to get the ball up on the sideline!”

Indeed, Marko Marin had just tried to use his footwork skills on the sideline to fool Wood and cross the ball over. But the football was jabbed out of the end line by Wood who caught up. Although it gave the other team a corner kick, the Germany team’s attack did not succeed this time.

Following which, during the corner kick, Wood locked in his position again and jumped first to head the flying football out.

“If I had to score the game after, I would not have hesitated to give England’s number 13, George Wood the best player of the game!” The Spanish television commentator said so.

“He is the brightest star in the last ten minutes of the game. He’s deservedly the standard of England! I’m glad that he was seated on the substitutes’ bench the entire time for our game…” The Portuguese commentator made an observation, even though his country team lost 2:4 to England. But when faced with such a tenacious George Wood, he could not help but feel respect in his heart.

“This is George Wood playing with an injury. If it were to be a healthy George Wood… how scary would it be?” The Italian commentator was beginning to wonder what would happen if his country team met with England.

“He’s England’s Mazinger Z!” The Chinese commentator’s critique was much simpler, but more sensational. . .

※※※

As Wood tried his hardest on the pitch, the England team’s substitutes had long gathered and waited on the sidelines, ready to celebrate another victory over the Germany team and the team’s advance to the next level.

It was now less than half a minute from the end of the injury stoppage time. And the Germany team still could not find a better solution. Sammer had already used up his remaining substitution spots but was still unable to break through England’s defense led by Wood. Now he was no longer walk along the sidelines anxiously but quieted down. Perhaps he had already accepted the outcome – he did not anticipate that George Wood would play at the last minute with his injury. He also did not consider that Tony Twain would actually agree to this somewhat ridiculous request…

George Wood did not let his guard down by the way his substitute teammates acted. He would never stop running until he heard the referee’s three whistles. Also, since he had not played for sixty-five days, there was even some hope that the game would last a little longer…

Finally, when he last kicked Toni Kroos’ shot out of the sideline, he heard the referee’s whistle, all three whistles, and the game was over!