Godfather Of Champions

When Wang Huasheng sent the draft to China, he divided the single interview into two articles.

One of the articles was briefly on the news about Nottingham Forest’s interest in Sun Jihai. The other article was their conversation with Twain re-organized as an interview, which naturally included some of Wang Huasheng’s own material. He stated that it was to introduce the British manager, who was very fond of and knowledgeable about China, to the Chinese readers.

Tang Jing did not say anything when she saw that he had concocted this exclusive interview on his end.

She had heard of such a thing: a certain Chinese reporter had gone to Spain and taken a photograph with a star player. When he returned, he had fabricated an exclusive interview and then sent it with the photograph back to China, where it was published in the newspaper.

In comparison, Uncle Wang had exercised restraint in his conduct.

No one would know what kind of response the report would cause in China. However, Wang Huasheng was convinced that the newspaper sales would certainly increase by a lot. A British coach, who had a lot of connections with China, was linked up with a Chinese player this time. It was worthwhile to continue following up on the hype.

He took a risk this once. It was just like when Li Xiang established a close relationship with Milutinović; the result was that she immediately became the most valuable reporter, with influence and money rolling in.

※※※

Regardless of the uproar that that half-truth “interview” might cause in China, Twain had forgotten about the matter the next day after he had sent the two Chinese reporters off.

Pearce had returned with an answer, but this time his answer had put Twain in an awkward situation. Pearce had agreed to loan Micah Richards to the Forest team.

Twain was embarrassed that after these days of careful deliberation, he did not want Richards.

The Forest team’s defensive line was generally young: 18-year-old Piqué, 26-year-old Chimbonda, 26-year-old Matthew Upson, 20-year-old Leighton Baines, 22-year-old Pepe…

If a younger Richards were to come in, Twain felt that it would not be ideal for the defensive line, which needed experience and stability.

Therefore, after being quiet on the phone for a while, Twain still wanted to suggest to Pearce that the Forest team was very interested in Sun Jihai and he hoped that Manchester City could seriously consider the transfer arrangement of Sun Jihai.

“This puts me in an awkward position…”

When he heard Pearce say that, Twain was delighted because he knew the matter had legs. At least Pearce had not rejected it right away. It meant he had considered Sun Jihai’s departure. He decided to strike while it was hot, “Loaning Richards to us is to train him and for him to accumulate experience. Keeping him in Manchester City and giving him the main position are also training him and letting him accumulate experience. Both results are the same. I think it may be more beneficial to Richards’ development if you keep him by your side.”

“Tony, this does not sound like you.”

Twain chuckled. “I’ve given it serious consideration, and I think Sun Jihai is more suitable for the Forest team. Help me, Pearce. You also know that, according to Richards’s growth rate, he will be able to completely replace Sun Jihai in the next two or three years. At that time, Sun Jihai’s position in Manchester City will become rather tricky. And the Forest team needs him now. You can use Richards to play as the main force. Put your trust in him and the kid will repay you generously. Maybe the best young player in the new season is him.”

“The future is unclear.”

“This is a win-win situation and a good thing, Pearce. You may rest assured that the Forest team will make it up to Manchester City in the transfer fees.”

After a long silence on the other end, Twain thought Pearce was gone. Finally, the Manchester City manager spoke. “All right, the club will send you a fax on the transfer fee. If you can accept that price, you can go and talk to Sun’s agent.”

“Oh, thank you so much, Pearce!”

“If you really want to thank me, lead the team to play well in the UEFA Champions League! The Forest team has only competed in the Champions League three times and won two trophies. To return after all these years, I do not want to see a loss like the 2:7 defeat to Bayern Munich again…”

Twain knew that Pearce was referring to the 95-96 season. Nottingham Forest had returned to the European arena after eleven years and broken into the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals. But they were ultimately humiliated by the dominant Bundesliga team, Bayern Munich, by 7:2. Perhaps in the eyes of others, Nottingham Forest had performed well enough after they had returned to the European arena after so many years. But in the hearts of those Forest players, it was still a shame in their lives to have lost so miserably and to be so powerless to fight back even if they were facing a Bundesliga leader like Bayern.

The soul of Nottingham Forest had vanished when Brian Clough left.

“Rest assured, Pearce. Nottingham Forest is like a rock in the toilet.”

“What does that mean?” Stuart did not quite understand the Chinese allegory.

“It is smelly and hard. Those Continental European teams will have to be careful of their teeth if they think they can bully the Forest team.

Pearce paused for a second and then guffawed.

“What a good piece of smelly rock we are!”

※※※

The next day, Manchester City Football Club sent a fax to the Nottingham Forest Football Club, starting with a price that Manchester City could accept as the transfer fee for Sun Jihai, which was four million pounds.

Originally, Manchester City had bought Sun Jihai from Dalian Shide for two million pounds, which made the highest transfer fee for a Chinese player’s transfer to a foreign club. And now, apparently, as long as Tony Twain nodded his assent, Sun Jihai would once again create the highest record in value for a Chinese player.

Twain cursed Stuart Pearce’s shamelessness on the inside while he nodded in agreement to the price.

For four million pounds, Nottingham Forest officially requested the purchase of Manchester City’s right back and a utility player in the backfield, Sun Jihai.

Officially confirmed, this news caused a stir in China once again. Like Twain, the Chinese media knew what that price signified. No Chinese player had ever been able to command such a high price. This figure allowed Sun Jihai to be ranked among the mainstream players in the Premier League.

In the past, Chinese people always had the idea that when a Chinese player moved out of the country, he would be an outlier. Even when Sun Jihai was able to play as the main force in Manchester City, his countrymen still lacked a sense of security about him. If the Chinese media promoted how a Chinese player had made good overseas, soon a lot of people would exaggerate and believe in their own lies.

Just as the news hit the Chinese online network, many comments called the validity of the news into question. Of course, these questions could only lead to one result, which was quarrels and abuse between different regions in China. This characteristic was global, not just unique to China. It was the same as how Northerners in Britain thought that the Southerners were fools, and Southerners thought that the Northerners were hillbillies and uncivilized buffoons.

Later, many major websites and newspapers had published the news which included screenshots of the official websites of the two football clubs. This quelled the doubts of the Chinese fans.

Sun Jihai was indeed likely to join a team that was going to participate in the UEFA Champions League!

As a substitute or a main force? After the online debate over one issue, a new round of controversy began on the Chinese network.

Twain did not care about those things. When he was free, he would surf online on Chinese websites, but he never read the people’s comments.

Would Sun Jihai accept the invitation from the Forest team?

This seemingly simple question contrived to cast some doubts. Which team should he choose; a team that could only play in the domestic league or a team that could participate in the UEFA Champions League? Was it not obvious?

However, Sun Jihai hesitated.

He liked Manchester City and his life in Manchester. He had lived there for five years and had a deep bond with the fans. Perhaps in today’s football world, there were fewer people who believed that a player could have feelings for a team and fans because there was no commitment or trust in the face of money. But Sun Jihai was that kind of person.

His traditional Chinese thinking was deeply rooted. There was an old saying: East or West, home is still the best. The same meaning could be applied to football clubs.

Even if Nottingham Forest could take part in the UEFA Champions League, what about it? Sun Jihai liked Manchester City and had bought a house in Manchester. His wife and children lived there. The place was his home. The Chinese people put family and home first.

Furthermore, he had another reason for hesitation. He did not know Manager Twain’s attitude towards him. Many Chinese media analysts said that the Forest team just wanted to buy a substitute player. Why did Twain stress that Sun Jihai was “strong in every area?” Was he not just looking to find a substitute player for Chimbonda, Leighton Baines, and the others? If he transferred to Forest but was not valued by the team, and had also abandoned his Manchester City fans, he would feel like a real fool.

Twain decided to personally call Sun Jihai to give him a reassuring boost.

When the call was connected, Sun Jihai habitually greeted him in English, but Twain spoke fluently in Mandarin, which stunned him.

“There’s no need to speak in English. You can speak Mandarin, which I can understand.” He even learned a little Northeastern Chinese accent.

It was hard for Sun Jihai not to laugh when he realized who had called him. “Your Northeastern dialect is highly irregular, Mr. Twain,” he said in jest.

“I’ll learn from you eventually. Then I won’t be afraid that my accent is inaccurate. Do you know why I called you?”

Sun Jihai nodded. “Yes.”

“What are you hesitating about? Are you worried that there’s no position for you, going to the Forest team? Do you believe the Chinese media? Four million to buy a substitute for occasional play?! I’m not crazy!”

Twain was aware of the matter. The Chinese media’s analysis thought that Nottingham Forest’s purchase of Sun Jihai was just to increase the abilities of its team’s substitutes. Their analysis seemed reasonable and, as a result, they had a confusing effect on the readers.

But Twain just wanted to curse and swear when he read it. It was just as he had said to Sun Jihai: Even if the Forest team wanted to burn money, they would not burn it by spending four million pounds on a substitute.

“The Forest team is competing on multiple fronts this season, and the team does not have a differentiation for main forces or substitutes. Whoever is in good condition and performs well, I’ll put that player in the starting lineup. Whoever’s stamina and condition are not good will rest. It’s that simple. But the media had to create a whole list of reasonings.”

Sun Jihai’s hand shook as he held the phone. He was trying to hold back his laughter, but in the end, he could not suppress it.

“Mr. Twain, you have to be the funniest manager I’ve ever met.”

“Actually, I’m very easy to get along with.” Twain continued while he was ahead. “You’ll find out when you join.”

Sun Jihai was silent for a moment.

“Sun” To tell the truth, it was somewhat awkward for Twain to address Sun Jihai like this. He really wanted to call him “Ah, Sihai,” but it felt too unnatural to address him that way in their first encounter. “Why did you become a professional player? To make money? To prepare for retirement? There will come a time when you can’t make money anymore, right? When you decide to retire, don’t you want to leave a different legacy for yourself? I’ll be honest, you’ve reached your limit in Manchester City and that’s how it’s always going to be. Manchester City is a team with no ambitions. But I have ambitions, and so does Nottingham Forest. I’m sure you can see that from the transfer market over the past two years. The reasons I want to buy you from Manchester City is not to spend four million to buy a substitute to sit on the bench as a spectator. Secondly, it is not to open up the Asian market or the Chinese market. I’m interested in your ability and think it will be very helpful to the team. What are you still hesitating about?”

Another silence ensued. Twain did not speak either. He had finished what he wanted to say. What else was there to say? If Sun Jihai still did not want to join, there was nothing more he could do. He just had to suck it up in private and then grow a thicker skin to ask Pearce for the loan of Richards again.

But he did not believe that Sun Jihai could refuse an invitation from him. In any case, there was nothing to lose for a player like Sun Jihai by transferring to Nottingham Forest. The Forest team gave more remuneration than Manchester City. In terms of honor, the Forest team had the ambition and goal to strive towards glory. He would not only increase his value, but he would also gain fame and four million to join a high-profile team that was going to participate in the UEFA Champions League.

Twain quietly waited for Sun Jihai’s answer. Soon, he received the answer he wanted.

“Okay, Mr. Twain. I’ll go with you.”

※※※

So Twain settled the matter of Sun Jihai. There was no problem with his agent. The only obstacle to the transfer was the player’s individual will. Now everything was ready. The Forest team and Sun Jihai’s agent quickly negotiated his personal contract and signed the contract with the fastest speed.

A day later, Sun Jihai and his agent were at the Nottingham Forest City Ground Stadium, holding the red Forest team jersey to meet with the fans, media and the Nottingham Overseas Chinese Students Association. He gave a bashful smile, standing beside Twain and Evan Doughty,.

When he stepped into the stadium from the press conference, he looked up and saw the banner that the fans had put up in the stands: “China Sun, welcome to Forest!”

Twain also noticed the banner, which was not made by the Overseas Chinese Students Association. The people holding the banner were purely British fans. It was easy for Twain to spot Fat John and Skinny Bill. It must have been their idea.

While the cameras flashed repeatedly in the hands of the reporters, Twain turned to look at Sun Jihai, who was looking at the banner, and said, “You see, when there’s sunlight, the Forest can carry out photosynthesis. With photosynthesis, the Forest can flourish.”

Perhaps Sun Jihai could not know what kind of brilliant achievements he would have in his career after he came to the Forest team. However, one thing was certain: there would be a big difference between here and Manchester City. He would have something different in his career.

When he heard Twain’s words, Sun Jihai smiled as brightly as the sun.