Godfather Of Champions

Twain brusquely refused the reporter’s question at the press conference. He just swore and left. Would the matter be over just like that?

No!

Of course not!

Things had just begun for the British tabloids.

In reality, they had only had one meal together. However, for people who did not know the inside story, the only way they could understand it was through the media. Whatever the media reported, that was how they viewed it. When the media said that the relationship between Twain and Gloria went beyond a platonic friendship or working relationship between a man and woman, then that was what the readers would think. They would not consider the whole story themselves. They could not do so, because they did not have enough clues. The media were always smart enough to conceal things which were unfavorable for them, and to exaggerate and embellish the favorable things.

Twain was aware of all that. He kept his silence now only because he wanted Clarice to come forward and explain. A woman’s words should be more convincing than a man’s. However, the problem was, when the media called Clarice Gloria, they discovered that she had turned off her phone!

When one person out of the two could not be reached, the other would naturally bear more brunt.

Now, the reporters lingered around the training ground and the stadium every day. People discussed the “relationship” between Twain and Gloria online and in the newspapers as if they had been confirmed as a couple.

Gloria was Europe’s famous and beautiful female anchor. She was only temporarily employed by UEFA this time. She was not just a pretty face who relied on her looks to get to the top seat. She was truly capable and successful. Hence, the “coupling” between her and Twain was made more interesting. Everyone knew that Gloria was not the kind of woman who would use her looks for hype. She had high standards and taste, which could be deduced from her previous singlehood. Therefore, the media could not be blamed for the fuss they showed over the scandal between her and Twain.

In the past, everyone had always been interested in Twain’s private life. The 37-year-old Tony Twain had never even had a nominal girlfriend. The Brazilian model, Shania, who was often seen with him, was a child. The Sun had publicized the two people’s “Tour of Spain” before. But when they found out that Shania was just a 14-year-old child and there was nothing between them, they lost interest.

As for Wood’s mother, Twain protected Sophia well. No one was aware that he knew such a woman. Twain understood that if his unique experience with Sophia was exposed in front of the media, then perhaps it would be a terrible thing for him, Sophia, and George.

Everyone felt that it was abnormal for the 37-year-old Twain to not even have a girlfriend. Only the appearance of Clarice Gloria could cause this kind of media attention.

When the media was speculating on Twain’s “relationship,” they never wondered why a football manager’s romance would receive this extensive level of attention. It was reasonable to say that only the star players would receive this kind of treatment. Had anyone ever seen the media care about the private life of a manager before this?

Nevertheless, Twain was now the focus of media attention because of his private life.

Perhaps his presence had changed something that people were accustomed to.

Clarice’s cellphone was turned off. The reporters could not get in touch with her. Nottingham Forest, where Twain was located, suffered. The reporters’ interest in the matter had gone beyond the event itself. The media and readers no longer treated Twain as a professional football manager but as an entertainment celebrity.

Not only the sports media but even the entertainment gossip media had gotten into the mix. The enthusiasm shown by the reporters for the incident had already greatly affected the team’s normal training.

The away game against Liverpool was a very important game for Nottingham Forest, and what was worse was that the game was immediately followed by another away game: the Champions League away game with Inter Milan. Given that the Champions League game was a knockout challenge and therefore more important, Twain did not send all his main players into the game against Liverpool.

As a result, the team lost 2:3 to Liverpool. Although they lost the game, they did not lose too badly. The players worked hard. Twain had nothing to complain about. But in the post-match press conference, a reporter asked whether the defeat was due to the impact of the matter with Clarice. Twain flew into a rage on the spot and only said “goodbye,” before he made an early exit again.

The next day, Twain explained the reasons for his angry exit in his column. His team had played very hard in the game. Although they lost, Liverpool did not win easily. All the players’ hard work was negated by that damn reporter’s gossipy question. They only focused on the silly gossip between a man and a woman and did not recognize the assiduous efforts of the players who desperately wanted to win but had failed to do so. He found that to be the most intolerable.

“If I were to answer that sonofab**ch’s question, it would be a betrayal of my players. My players competed in the field and tried incredibly hard, and you bastards only wanted to know what my relationship with Gloria was. Whatever my relationship with her is has not one ounce to do with Nottingham Forest’s game with Liverpool!”

The Nottingham Evening Post published his text word for word; even Twain’s swear words written in agitation were not deleted. Thanks to Twain, the Evening Post, which was originally only on sale in Nottingham, was now sold as far as Newcastle. Therefore, the Nottingham Evening Post took Twain’s side in this matter. They did not hype up the scandal and go against Twain. In fact, they did not need to hype it themselves. With Twain, who liked to fire away in his column, around, the matter would automatically be hyped.

※※※

After their return to Nottingham at the end of their trip to Liverpool, the team would fly to Milan the next day for their first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

Initially for Twain, going to the game in Milan was something that made him very happy. That was not because they were there to challenge the Serie A powerhouse team, Inter Milan, but because he would have a chance to see Shania, whom he had not seen in a long time.

Nowadays, Shania seldom returned to the United Kingdom. After Shania was listed as one of 2006’s top ten up and coming models in the magazine that Twain saw during the Christmas season, Shania had become a hot commodity. Now, she shuttled more between Italy and France. She had even rented an apartment in Milan with plans to stay there for long term.

She had not visited her aunt in Newcastle for a long time. As for her studies, they were put on hold indefinitely.

In the beginning, Twain told Shania that that was a good thing; it showed that the young girl had grown up. Twain later regretted it because she was so busy. He did not expect that a model would have so many events after she became famous. He had thought that a model just needed to walk the runway. How many fashion shows could there be annually? He did not realize there were spring, winter, and fall shows.

Later, he discovered that Shania’s work was not just walking the catwalk in fashion shows, but that it included many more brand endorsements and various commercial activities.

He and Shania basically had no chances to meet, and could only keep in touch online and through their cellphones.

Shania really did not like modeling because it was tiring. Every time she felt tired, she would call Twain or chat online. Twain would comfort and encourage her as much as possible since he could not do anything else. He could not tell Shania to quit.

Just as Shania’s father had said to him, Shania had trained as a model since she was young, and becoming a model now was in line with her mother’s expectations. Therefore, if she did quit as a model, Twain really could not think of what Shania could do.

As a result, Twain lent his ear to Shania’s complaints. They included dissatisfaction with her work; the fact that, even though she was friends with her girlfriends, they were also secretly competing with each other; and the interesting stories behind the glamor of models. Shania would tell all those things to Twain. She was actually a very sensible child. Although she did not like her job and felt very tired and full of complaints, she would still dutifully do her job after she vented to Twain. Perhaps she also knew that she had nothing else to do but to be a model.

However, it was not as enjoyable to chat all the time over the phone. Twain had planned to take time out to bring Shania out for a meal or something. After they eliminated the Rangers, Shania had also specially called to congratulate her “Uncle Tony” and had looked forward to their time in Milan.

But now…

Due to the stir caused by the English media, Twain’s calls to Shania went unanswered.

On the eve of their expedition to Italy, Twain dialed that familiar phone number repeatedly, but there was always one sound which came from the earpiece: “The number you have dialed is not in service.”

After dialing ten times in a row, Twain tossed his phone onto the couch.

Dunn looked at him sympathetically next to him.

Twain gave Dunn a sideways glance, pointed at him, and said, “You’d better not make me mad!”

So, Dunn turned his gaze back to the television screen.

“You’re such a bore!” Twain rushed up to turn off the television. “You’re constantly home and watch TV all day long! You’re not even bothered!” He snapped at Dunn.

Dunn continued to look at him sympathetically. Although he did not say a word, his eyes said it all. Still waters run deep with this guy!