Godfather Of Champions

Dunn’s analysis was on point. The powerhouses rumored to be interested in Rafael van der Vaart were all currently in some sort of difficulty themselves. They were unable to extricate themselves from their situations to care about him. Before Nottingham Forest joined the pursuit, Germany’s Hamburger SV was closest to Rafael van der Vaart.

In truth, Hamburger SV was already very keen on bringing in the Ajax captain who was in a tough situation even before the last season.

At that time, if Koeman had continued to be Ajax’s main manager, van der Vaart would surely have chosen to go to Hamburger SV. However, Blind’s arrival changed all that Tang En was familiar with. He persuaded Ajax’s pillar of support to stay behind and help him for one season. During that time, a large half of Ajax’s youth talents had just left, and the results of the team were unstable. They had needed an experienced veteran to take the lead. Without a doubt, van der Vaart was their best candidate.

As thanks for van der Vaart’s decision to stay behind, the club would not stop him from leaving the team a season later. So long as he came to an agreement with the other team, he would be able to depart from the team at an inexpensive price.

Van der Vaart agreed to this condition and chose to stay behind in exchange for departing a season later. Blind also gave him the captain’s armband.

As a result, van der Vaart had turned down Hamburger SV a season ago.

The German club had had their hearts set on him. A season later, they again extended an invitation to van der Vaart. The man had very good feelings towards the German football team that valued him so highly and which had promised to let him play his favorite position of shadow striker. If not for Tony Twain abruptly intervening, he would have begun contract discussions with Hamburger SV.

Nottingham Forest’s joining changed everything.

A team which had so much ambition and which was constantly striving to strengthen their capabilities was hoping for van der Vaart to join them. Their aim was to become the season’s champions of the Champions League.

Van der Vaart admitted that this attracted him a lot more than simply letting him play as a shadow striker.

As a professional footballer, which player would not want to attain the highest glory in the football scene? The highest glories for the National teams were the UEFA European Championship and World Cup championship, while a club’s highest glory was, of course, becoming champions of the UEFA Champions League.

In the previous season, Nottingham Forest had fought all the way into the finals in one breath. And during the finals, the story of their pitiable loss to Barcelona had left him with a deep impression. Even van der Vaart, who was without any prior understanding of Forest Team, was left with an indelible memory of it.

After a face-to-face discussion with Tang En, he himself had felt the great aspirations of the manager. In truth, the scales in van der Vaart’s heart were shaken when they had met. His manager, Søren Lerby, was a person who attended to details. Following the meeting, he especially gave van der Vaart a few DVD recordings of Forest’s matches.

Since waiting to observe at their camp training in the Netherlands would be too late, they might as well begin their observations through the match recordings now.

Søren Lerby hoped that van der Vaart could understand what kind of team Forest was through the recordings and then consider which club he should go to.

Of course, how could UEFA’s documentary of Nottingham Forest be missing from those DVDs?

Tony Twain and the team was presented clearly before van der Vaart.

This was a youthful team filled with vigor. At the same time, they were not lacking in experience. The feeling they gave was very much like Ajax.

“Days with nothing to do are so boring.” In their hotel room, Dunn was focused on his research of every one of their opponents in the new season, while Tang En was leaning by the windows, watching the pedestrians pass by beneath and playing with the cell phone in his hands.

Two days had passed. Van der Vaart had yet to give them a reply, and even his agent, Søren Lerby, seemed to have gone missing without any attempt to initiate contact with them.

Tang En believed that his words and tactical strategies had already moved the other party. No, he did not just believe it; he was sure of it. What was strange was that the other party had not replied to him the next day. Being on tenterhooks in this manner was truly discomforting.

“You could go exploring on your own, see the world-famous window prostitution,” Dunn replied without looking up.

Tang En glared at him. “Sometimes, I really miss the old Dunn who wouldn’t even let out a fart in a span of three days.’

“Or, you could start seriously considering how you can make sure the players don’t get into trouble while training here.”

That question was a serious one, causing Tang En to settle into silence. Back then, when he had chosen Amsterdam, he did not consider that aspect. The Netherlands could be considered to be the world’s most open country. Over here, drugs, prostitution, gambling, and euthanasia were all legal. Things that would have severe legal repercussions in other nations were all openly existent under the sun in this low-lying land.

If Tang En was accompanied by a hospitable friend from the Netherlands who was familiar with Amsterdam, he would not at all mind visiting a brothel to have some fun. If he himself was that way, what of the younger players who were full of vigor?

The western world was unlike the Chinese world; it was no big deal to publicly talk about sex. Matters such as visiting prostitutes were up to the freedom of an individual, their private life. Others could not interfere with it.

Tang En was not some kind of moralist. He felt that it was a normal biological need for men to look for women. In a situation where they did not have a girlfriend or wife, they could not possibly always be alone. So, prostitutes naturally became a reasonable option. In his days in the UK, he had had several experiences like that. But to him, those sorts of matters were not anything worthwhile to publicly advertise about.

During summer vacation, Tang En could care less about what the players were doing. It was none of Tang En’s business, small matters like finding women for relaxation.

But what was to come next was the team’s training camp. They needed to begin preparation for the new season. For players, this duration was considered working hours; Was there ever a boss that allowed workers to call for girls during working hours?

Having situated the training in Amsterdam, they naturally had to face this sort of troublesome issue. He could not possibly request that all his players stay in the hotel at night and disallow them from going anywhere. This was pre-season training, not a Nazi concentration camp.

“Yes…” Tang En said as he pondered. “Perhaps, I should adjust the plans for the next camp training.”

“Giving up on the Netherlands?”

“We don’t have to. We’re the number two football team in Europe. Getting scared off by a bunch of call girls… Wouldn’t that be shameful if it got out? But I’ll have to give up on Amsterdam. This city isn’t a suitable place for training.”

“You have a new place in mind?”

Tang En smiled. “I just remembered a place. It might work.”

“Where?”

“A small town north-east of Amsterdam, Volendam.”

Dunn was stunned on hearing the name.

“It’s bright and beautiful, with a network of rivers. The place is a little secluded, but it is quiet. The locals there are simple and honest, so our people won’t be disturbed much. I think that it’s a good location for focusing on training.” Tang En winked. Of course, he was not going to reveal that he himself had found the name from an online web novel about soccer and retained a deep impression of it.

“It is a good place.” Dunn could say nothing else.

At this point, the phone that Tang En had been fiddling with vibrated. It alarmed him so much he almost hurled it out of the window.

The phone jumped between his hands several times before he finally caught hold of it.

“Hello! Mr. Lerby!” Tang En’s voice rose. He stood up from beside the windows.

Seeing him stand, Dunn fell quiet.

After half a minute or so, a smile emerged on Tang En’s face. “That’s great! Thank you, Mr. Lerby. We will contact Ajax immediately. At the same time, I think we can begin our discussion of the personal contract terms tomorrow.”

Putting down the phone, Tang En threw up his arms and jumped. “Great news! Van der Vaart has joined!”

“Don’t celebrate too early. Ajax hasn’t confirmed they will release him.”

“There’s no problem on the club’s side,” Tang En said with a wave of his hand. “This is a good sign. A good sign for the new season. Dunn, I feel like I’ve gotten new epic-level equipment! We’re getting stronger!”

“This isn’t an online game… What did the agent say?”

“‘Rafael is pleased to be able to accept Nottingham Forest’s invitation and has entrusted me all rights in the discussion of his terms and contract,”‘ Tang En said, imitating Søren Lerby’s way of speaking.

“Ruud van Nistelrooy, van der Vaart… and more. I’m going to throw Europe’s soccer scene into chaos this season!” Tang En’s eyes shone brightly with a wide toothy grin on his face.

The negotiations went smoothly, with all the terms and conditions settled in just one afternoon. Van der Vaart’s salary placement within the team belonged to the first category. Forest, who had earned a lot of money from the television broadcast in the last season, was also generous, writing a large check.

Van der Vaart was extremely satisfied with his personal terms of contract. Other than his salary, there were also additional prizes for scoring goals and assists. Furthermore, the length of four years for the contract was reasonable. There were no problems he could pick on.

Regarding the negotiations between the clubs, it was as expected. As promised, van der Vaart stayed behind to help his team get through a tough season, and now it was the club’s turn to go through on their end of the bargain. Ajax did not make things difficult with van der Vaart’s direction of choice, and the two clubs very quickly came to an agreement.

At last, Nottingham Forest successfully brought in Netherlander midfield football star, Rafael van der Vaart, at a low price of 4.5 million pounds.

When Tang En returned to England, he brought back an outstanding midfield attacker for the team and greater versatility in their strategies.

This time, the history once described by the “Godfather of Barcelona,” Cruyff, as “I don’t know what to say or what van der Vaart would do in Hamburger SV,” had finally been crushed in its infancy. Europe’s golden boy, known as the “new Cruyff” and who had gradually become a fallen player, was now a member of the Red Forest. In this team, he would continue bearing his favorite jersey number, 24. In the press conference to welcome him, Tang En said this to the reporters doubting van der Vaart’s level and conditions:

“… I know about the situation during his last moments in Ajax. We’ve had a very honest conversation. I firmly believe in my choice. Rafael is a player worthy of my trust and is also a player that Forest needs. My players do not need to be responsible for the doubts of the media; he only needs to be responsible to me and my team.”

Tang En’s future, Nottingham Forest’s future, the English Premier League’s future, and the future of various powers within the European soccer scene… They were all greatly anticipated.

After taking down the former number 10 player from the Netherland’s National Team, Tang En’s actions in the transfer market did not halt there.

Three days after, Nottingham Forest’s official site updated the transfer news again, having just updated it three days prior. They placed it in an eye-catching spot.

Since Tang En’s arrival, Nottingham Forest’s official site had developed a habit. Before a final success in transfer negotiations with the players, they would surely not divulge any news on their own website, even if the outside world was already rife with rumors, or if papers like The Sun were talking such a transaction going on. The news they announced was always successful transfers, whether it be the departure of a player or an arrival. So, Forest’s fans and media on the lookout for news on Forest Team understood that they only had to wait on the official website to know and ascertain the success or failure of a certain transfer.

This time, the picture appearing on the homepage of the website was an Eastern European player.

“… We are delighted to announce that the club has reached an agreement with Atlético Madrid from the La Liga, to purchase Bulgaria’s national player, left winger Martin Petrov, at a price of 5 million pounds. The player famed for his speed and assists is happy to join the team. During an interview with him, he claimed it was the main manager’s name, Tony Twain, that had influenced him to make this decision. In this transfer, we defeated North London’s football team, Tottenham Hotspur.”

That last line of the news was also unique to the official website since Tang En’s arrival. The method of publicly announcing having defeated whoever it was gained the ire of opposing clubs. But Forest found a tireless joy in it and did not have the intention of changing their habits.

Such an arrogant show was very true to the impression Tony Twain gave to people.

After bringing in large numbers of offensive players, Tang En finally thought of adding in some competitiveness to the defensive line.

A day later, the homepage of the official site added news of another confirmed transfer.

“Nottingham Forest has reached a consensus regarding the transfer of Belgium R.S.C. Anderlecht’s young center back, Vincent Kompany. Manager Twain has called Kompany, valued at four million pounds, the future of the team. He would be competing for the core position of center back with Piqué and Pepe in the new season. Kompany is delighted to join Nottingham Forest, and for that, has turned down Hamburger SV’s invitation.

At the same time, manager Tony Twain has agreed upon Matthew Upson’s transfer to West Ham United. The negotiations of the terms of contract between the two clubs as well as West Ham United and the player have concluded. On manager Tony’s successful purchase of Kompany, he has also finally agreed to release Upson. We are grateful for Upson’s contributions to the team in these two seasons and wish him the best of luck.”

Matthew Upson’s departure brought in an income of 4.2 million pounds for Forest. The successful sale of the team’s reserve center back at this price was attributed not only to English Premier’s usual tendency to hype prices up, but also significantly to the double act performance by Allan Adams and Tony Twain.

On one hand, Allan contended with their opponents on the negotiation tables. On the other, Tang En was dead set on not letting go. His insistent claims about not selling anyone also gave West Ham United no small pressure. In the end, the center back who was never in Tang En’s plans managed to be sold for 4.2 million pounds, canceling out the cost of Kompany’s transfer and even getting two hundred thousand pounds as net profit.

After a series of transfer movements, Forest’s formation for the new season was more or less complete. Now, if there was still a source of worry in both Tang En and Allan’s hearts, it was likely to be the uncertain factor of Anelka.

However, Tang En could care less about Anelka today. It did not matter if he was willing to stay or leave the team. He did not have the energy to care about it. With so many new players on the team, he needed to mesh them all together before the season began and deal with the relations on the team. He also had to guide the new players to adapt to the team and their life in England as soon as possible.

“On my team, there isn’t a difference between core players an reserves. Only a difference between those in good condition and with good attitudes, or those in lousy conditions with lousy attitudes. If you want to play in more matches, work hard to convince me with your performance in training and in matches!” Tang En said to the 25 players on the First Team during their first training session.

It was the official beginning of Nottingham Forest’s all-around battle in the new season.