Godfather Of Champions

The stands in the City Ground stadium reached a fever pitch as the crowd watched the football go into the net.

“Everyone has been guessing when Eastwood’s first comeback game would be. No one believed that Eastwood could return to his former standard after his recovery. They all thought that it was a miracle for the Romanito return to the field at all. But! Freddy Eastwood used this goal to tell us that all our speculations were wrong! Ten months later, he’s still the same Freddy Eastwood!”

Motson fired away at the microphone like a machine gun.

Mark Lawrenson was completely silent. This goal seemed like a slap in his face. Conventionally, it was very difficult for a seriously wounded player to return to his previous level. He had not expected Eastwood to fly in the face of convention!

“Look at Tony Twain’s excitement. That young manager was the one who cared the most about Eastwood during his injury. And now Eastwood repays all the care that Manager Twain has given him! The 2:0 lead over Newcastle United is like a buy one get one free giveaway. He has gained a healthy and perfect striker; this is the most important thing!”

Eastwood broke away from Albertini’s embrace and shook his arms as he shouted. But soon he was swamped by more Forest players. He was tightly held in the middle, with only one arm still raised high.

“Holy s**t, David, this is terrific!” The substitutes’ bench was full of cheers. Twain could not help but swear. “Can you imagine a more perfect comeback?”

Kerslake laughed as he shook his head.

※※※

Currently, it was no longer Souness of the previous half of the season coaching Newcastle United. As the results could not satisfy the Magpies fans, Souness was forced to leave the St James’ Park stadium. The Newcastle United chairman, Shepard, had chosen to let the club’s youth-development manager, Glenn Roeder, be the caretaker manager.

Twain and the man were old acquaintances. He was Twain’s first opponent when he had coached for the first time. He defeated Twain that time, but then the circumstances of both men were polar opposites to what they were now. Twain did very well as the manager of Nottingham Forest, whereas Glenn Roeder was still only a manager of a youth team and caretaker manager, moving from West Ham United to Newcastle United.

Tang En’s arrival changed a lot of things, but he could not turn a good-for-nothing into a genius, so Mr. Roeder did not change at all.

He wanted to equalize the score but lacked specific ideas. In the end, Nottingham Forest scored another goal and issued the verdict for the game.

What made it even more unbearable for him was that his failure became Eastwood’s glorious comeback. No one cared about Newcastle United’s performance or result for this game. Everyone was currently talking about one person: Freddy Eastwood.

However, Newcastle United was also a traditionally strong team in the North. Playing a supporting role to a player was an indignity.

Although the game was not over yet, the City Ground stands had already begun to celebrate in advance. Watching those jubilant Nottingham Forest fans, Manager Glenn Roeder was ashen-faced.

He was not incapable of accepting defeat. He just could not stomach that he had lost to that man again.

Although it had been three years, he still remembered what Tony Twain had said to him as he shook his hand at a press conference after the FA Cup: “You’d better pray that your team will not be relegated.” He had never met such a thoughtless manager. And what made him even angrier was that what this tactless man had said came true! After the season had ended, West Ham United could not escape the misfortune of relegation despite their efforts to catch up on the points in the second half of the season. His West Ham United team was probably the relegated team with the most points in history.

He believed this was all credited to Tony Twain’s curse.

The grudge was firmly lodged in his heart.

If the West Ham United team he had led eventually stayed in the Premier League after a half-season reversal, would his personal coaching career change and progress in a better direction? Roeder certainly believed this would be the case because he had done something which even his predecessor was not optimistic about. It could be called a miracle.

He did not think that due to that man’s “curse”, his miracle came to nothing. Success, honor, and money all vanished. Now, seeing how Twain was more and more successful, he was even more indignant. He felt as if Twain was stepping on his corpse.

Losing to this man again today made him even more disgruntled with him.

However, Twain could care less about Mr. Glenn Roeder’s mood and thoughts. Roeder loathed him so much, but Twain might have forgotten about the enmity between him and Roeder.

Who’s Glenn Roeder?

※※※

As soon as the game was over, Eastwood was surrounded by a crowd of reporters who had flocked around him. Once again he became the focus of the media. But this time, no one looked at him with sympathy in their eyes; only with respect, admiration, and some amazement.

No one would say that he was the poor guy who could only play during garbage time. He had proved with his actions that he had not sunk to that point.

After three knee surgeries, Eastwood could score the moment he played. He was even more powerful than ever!

He was the hero who had turned the game around and saved his team!

“The Romani Rooney” was back!

Those must have been the thoughts in everyone’s mind.

Question his ability? You must be joking; have we ever questioned it?! We’ve always believed in him.

Twain watched the reporters and the photographers carrying their cameras. It was like watching a bunch of flies around a buttercream cake.

He grinned and walked away from the noisy stadium.

Although he hated this kind of thing, he knew clearly that the football world was cruel and only cared about results. If Eastwood’s performance was mediocre in this game, then those countless questioning voices would not only have crushed Eastwood after the game, they would have overwhelmed him. But as long as one scored a goal, no matter how they performed at any other times, just one goal could let people forget one’s mediocrity at other points. As long as one scored a goal, they had succeeded.

What was the criterion to measure success? It was the result, not the process.

Fortunately, Eastwood proved his ability, upheld his dignity, and had not become a sacrificial victim of such rules.

The next day, the photos of Eastwood after he scored the goal were in all the major media outlets. Practically everyone was unanimous in their surprise that he was able to score in his first comeback game after ten months. Because of that, some reporters went to the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University to interview Dr. Stephen Albert who had treated Eastwood. The Notts County fan expressed disdain for the media’s surprise, “What’s so strange about that? I’m not surprised that he can score. Some people would be devastated after ten months of continuous surgery and treatment. But he never thought to give up. It’s perfectly normal that he was able to score in his comeback game!”

The papers which publicized the matter the most were obviously the local Nottingham media. “The Nottingham Evening Post” reporter Pierce Brosnan mocked Mark Lawrenson, who had repeatedly put down Eastwood before the game, “Luckily, he did not bet that if Eastwood scored a goal, he’d have to shave his head.”