Godfather Of Champions

He did not score a goal, but Wood was not annoyed. He turned around and ran back. He even high-fived Arteta who covered him on the way. Ronaldinho attentively watched this man and found his facial expression still as water, without any display of emotions at all.

What was he thinking? Perhaps he did not feel it was a shame that the ball did not go in? Or … he thought that he still had a chance to threaten Barcelona’s goal again?

If you really think so, that would be a grave mistake!

Valdés drove the ball out. After Eto’o received it, he passed it to Ronaldinho.

The Brazilian was the core of Barcelona. He had just gotten the ball and George Wood immediately got closer.

“It’s no surprise that George Wood is in charge of defending Ronaldinho. If there’s anyone in the Forest team who can cause Ronaldinho some trouble, it is possibly number 13 here. This is the first time Wood has defended against Ronaldinho in a game! In last year’s Champions League final, Wood missed the game because of his suspension from accumulating too many yellow cards!”

Ronaldinho certainly knew that George Wood made a name for himself in defense. When he faced Wood’s direct defense, he dared not underestimate his opponent.

After he tried to make a feint, Ronaldinho found the man opposite him remained unmoved. He frowned and passed the football to Messi at the flank.

Messi was specifically marked by another player, so Wood did not follow to get in on the action. He continued to follow not far from Ronaldinho and carefully watched the Brazilian’s movements at all times.

On the right flank, Messi had a one-on-one grapple with the Forest team’s left-back, Gareth Bale. Eto’o was already in the penalty area, ready to take a shot.

It looked like Barcelona wanted to use an offensive routine where they would make the pass from the flank and take the shot from the middle.

Just as the Nottingham Forest players put their defensive attention at the front of the goal, Messi feinted a shot, but sent the football back to Ronaldinho in the middle.

Ronaldinho had wanted to immediately do a long shot after he stopped the ball, but when he stopped the ball, he saw George Wood appear in front of him like a ghost.

His foot, which had swung up for the shot, became a huge weakness, as Ronaldinho briefly lost control of the ball.

George Wood timed it accurately and suddenly poked the ball away from the Brazilian’s foot.

“Terrific tackle! Looks like Ronaldinho has met a fierce rival!”

Ronaldinho was a little astounded. He initially thought his ruse to break through to the inside to provide support had deceived the person in front of his eyes. He did not expect himself he would be marked by him again after having just pulled out to receive Messi’s pass.

This was the second time this season that he had felt this feeling. The first time was in an away game during the group stage with Chelsea, where he had been marked so closely by the opposing Dutch defender, Boulahrouz, that he had nowhere to put his energy.

In that game, Mourinho had had Boulahrouz closely mark Ronaldinho and make a grab for the ball whenever he had it. He did not even hesitate to use foul play to disrupt Ronaldinho’s pace of his ball control. The tactic was a success, and the soul of Barcelona could not play at all, and had lost last season’s Champions League game to Chelsea.

In this game, it looked like Twain intended to copy Mourinho’s tactics. However, George Wood was more aggressive in defense, had a better strength, and better stamina.

The commentator was right in stating that Ronaldinho had encountered a tough opponent this time. As this was the first encounter between both parties due to George Wood’s suspension, Ronaldinho had been unhindered by Nottingham Forest and played skillfully in the last game. No one could have posed any threat to him at all.

If the Brazilian still played this game with the expectation of the previous game, Twain believed he would suffer for it.

After he intercepted the ball, Wood passed the football to Arteta. He did not participate in the attack again. He simply waited in the rear for the defense.

“George Wood is a rising defensive star player in Nottingham Forest, and his career is filled with legendary experiences. He has been selected for the England national team as a result of his stable and excellent play in the team and has played in Germany as one of the twenty-three players. Unfortunately, Eriksson believed more in big-name players like Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. As a young man participating in the World Cup for the first time, Wood did not receive a minute of playing time.” The Spanish commentator introduced the young man who was still unfamiliar to the Spanish spectators. “But looking at his performance, it should only be a matter of time before he becomes a main force of England.”

While the commentator introduced Wood, Nottingham Forest was attacking, and Ronaldinho did not run back to participate in the defense. He and George Wood stayed where they were. He frowned as he appraised the young man not far in front of him.

Through these two direct confrontations, he could already give George Wood a simple evaluation in his mind.

He had excellent stamina, was fast with his footwork, and decisive. He was calm and steady, and could not be easily fooled. Once he had decided, he would never give up midway. It was really hard to deal with such a defensive midfielder.

He brought to mind the the former captain and current manager of the Brazil national team, Dunga.

It looked like he was going to have to change his strategy.

When faced with such a player, in order to have more ball control, dribbling the ball was not feasible. The result would be either the ball would be intercepted, or he would be met with a foul. That obviously would disrupt the team’s offensive pace. What would be the most effective strategy?

It was to pass the ball.

Ronaldinho decided to reduce the frequency with which he dribbled and the amount of time he held the ball. He would pass the football out as much as he could. If possible, he would also pass it as far as possible.

Since Rijkaard had taken charge, Barcelona had gradually formed a set of their own offensive tactics which were currently improving. The lineup of the players was stable and had rapport. Ronaldinho believed it would not be difficult to do it.

Now was a good time for Barcelona to create a new dynasty. How could they be thwarted by an insignificant defensive midfielder?

Nottingham Forest’s offense was taken down by Valdés, who threw the ball to launch a counterattack. Barcelona immediately turned defense into offense. Barcelona may not have put out enough forces for its defense, but when they attacked, they were definitely not short of players.

After the football had been passed three times and bypassed twice, it was back at Ronaldinho’s feet.

Wood still pounced over. Ronaldinho looked at Wood’s right side, which it looked as if he wanted to break through from there. When he saw that Wood’s body’s center of gravity clearly leaned towards that side, he suddenly moved the football to the other side. Wood did not react. He just stayed where he was and watched helplessly as the football flew over his other side.

The diversionary pass was exactly what Ronaldinho was good at.

When he saw this scene, the Catalonian commentator exclaimed, “Ronaldinho’s pass has fooled George Wood! This is what a real football magician is! He’s just getting warmed up … Beautifully done!”

※※※

Twain just shrugged his shoulders when he saw Ronaldinho’s performance on the sidelines. He was even happy that Ronaldinho did this because the Brazilian, who was afraid and could not dribble the ball, was not a threat anymore. No matter how beautiful that pass was, it still required his teammates to cooperate. Ronaldinho was in a good shape, but he could not guarantee that everyone in Barcelona was in a good shape.

George Wood had brilliantly completed the task given to him.

This kid was growing every day. In the face of the world’s number one midfielder, he did not cower at all and was as calm as he was on the training ground.

Although Twain had turned him from a mover to a professional player, these specific qualities were the result of the constant efforts by Kerslake and Albertini. He was thankful to have these good helpers around him, and a ham-fisted manager get to this point today.

Albertini came over and sat down beside Twain. The pair did not converse. Their gazes met, and they turned their attention to the field again.

※※※

Ronaldinho passed the ball to Messi. Barcelona’s intention for this game was clear: if Ronaldinho met with trouble in the middle, the offensive focus would shift to Messi because Gareth Bale, the player in charge of defense for Nottingham Forest was younger than twenty years old.

Rijkaard and the entire Barcelona coaching unit, who studied Nottingham Forest’s game videos, thought Bale was a typical type of full back who was heavy on offense and light on defense. He liked to go up to assist and would not be back immediately after his assists. In that way, he created a lot of gaps behind him which could be used by Barcelona.

If Rijkaard and his coaching staff were able to study it, why would Twain not do the same?

Twain certainly knew Bale’s special trait – he was stronger in offense than defense. In that case, why did he not deploy Leighton Baines who was stronger in defense over Bale? Quite simply, Twain needed Bale’s offense and set-piece ability. But to make up for his lack of defense, Twain asked Bale not to rush into attack within fifteen minutes after the start of the game, but to concentrate on defense and withstand Barcelona’s repeated offense which made use of their home advantage.

Based on the current situation on the field, Twain’s arrangement was correct. After the start of the game, Barcelona launched a series of strong attacks on Bale’s side. If Bale also pressed on the assist, the Forest team’s defensive line would certainly be scattered by Barcelona. Usually during a competition, George Wood would come over to cover the gap left by Bale, but it was not possible today. He had a more important task.

Similarly, as a young man, Messi was more famous than Bale. The latter was only famous locally, and the former could be labeled as the successor to Maradona, the king of football – though it was a cheap label in Argentina, since there were a lot of appearances of “the successor to the king of football” in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Messi was currently recognized as the most likely candidate to achieve the level of Maradona.

Bale was very careful in the face of the esteemed Barcelona player. He remembered Twain’s exhortation to him before the game, “… Defense is something you need to concentrate on in the early stages of the game. Watch out for Messi.”

Ronaldinho was temporarily unable to perform so Messi took on the responsibility of Barcelona’s attack. He was very comfortable in the face of the slightly nervous Bale. After all, he was used to big events.

Messi paced himself and deliberately slowed down to lure Bale to come up and defend. Then while Bale leaned up for a moment, he suddenly poked the ball and accelerated to shake him off.

Bale had no idea that Messi would break through so quickly. He was caught off guard. As he turned hastily, he slipped and fell to the ground.

Just as the Catalan commentator prepared to shout that “Messi broke through Nottingham Forest’s defense,” Messi was blocked by a man.

The Catalan commentator stayed quiet for a few seconds when he saw who the man was.

The man in front of Messi was not George Wood, who could run endlessly, but formerly the best player in Barcelona youth academy, the Spain national youth team’s main center back, and the former Barcelona vice president’s grandson, Piqué.

“Piqué, once the pride of the defensive line in La Masia, is now … our opponent.”

When Messi was not yet a famous superstar footballer in the football world, he and Piqué played in the same youth team. At the time, they were teammates and along with Fàbregas, had a good friendship. They even talked about their future ideal together during the training, which was to play for Barcelona and win all championships for Barcelona. It was almost the dream of almost all the young players at La Masia during that time.

Messi was a very talented player, but many who were able to get into the Barcelona youth team’s main lineup were talented. Was the talent of Arsenal’s new core, Fàbregas, worse than Messi’s?

Ahead of him was Piqué.

Messi was momentarily distracted, but he immediately regained his cool gaze. He seemed to see Piqué smiling at with an expression that seemed to say, “come on, boy. Just like when we played on La Masia’s training ground. I’m going to defend against you!”

Messi slowed down slightly to protect the ball. He was now on the edge of the penalty area and just needed to break through inside. Piqué absolutely did not dare to act lightly.

Piqué aimed at Messi sideways and was ready to turn around at any moment. He knew Messi’s strength and how good the kid, who had had growth hormone deficiency when he was young, was.

Messi made a gambit to pass, hoping to trick Piqué into losing his center of gravity. But Piqué remained unmoved and continued to stay sideways. He anchored his center of gravity and watched the ball at Messi’s feet.

From the corner of his eyes, Messi suddenly glimpsed Bale getting up to give chase after his fall. He realized that ahead of him, Piqué was only bluffing. The real purpose was to delay the time and wait for Bale to converge an attack in the front and back. He decided not to dawdle there with Piqué, but to force a breakthrough.

Messi jabbed the ball and cut cross inside to break through. Piqué followed suit and leaned his body forward, intending to stop Messi from accelerating.

At this moment, Messi suddenly smashed the ball and stopped hurriedly, in order to change to break through from behind Piqué!

Almost at the same time, Piqué also stopped. With his left foot firmly planted on the ground, he quickly turned around and stretched out his right foot to kick the ball.

Messi saw a leg suddenly appear in front of his eyes and could not react in time. Piqué intercepted the football and he fell to the ground in the penalty area due to the sudden stoppage!

Loud boos broke out in the stands of Camp Nou. They wanted the referee to give a penalty kick. But the referee saw the whole process clearly on the penalty line. Piqué defensive action was clean, and he did not foul at all.

After Piqué intercepted the ball, he got up to kick the football to Bale who came back to help. Bale then passed the football to his teammates in front of him and the Forest team re-organized the attack.

And Piqué, who had completed his defensive task, looked back at Messi, lying on the turf. He hesitated for a moment before he walked back and extended his hand to his former teammate.

Messi took Piqué’s hand and got up. He said nothing and ran back. Piqué watched his back. His eyes quickly shifted away and rested on his Forest teammates. At present, the Forest team had launched another attack. This was what he cared about.

※※※

“Piqué’s beautiful tackle managed to stop Messi. Now it’s a great opportunity for the Forest team to fight back. A number of Barcelona players had rushed up to prepare for the attack just now. They might not have thought Messi’s dribbling could be cut off so easily. There are not many players back to defend yet. Good heavens! The player who is dribbling the ball is… George Wood.”

The commentator was startled, but he was not mistaken. At the moment, the player dribbling the ball to participate and organize the offense of the Forest team’s counterattack was not Arteta, but the unexpected George Wood.

After Bale passed the ball to Arteta, George Wood suddenly let go of Ronaldinho and rushed forward at full speed. As if their hearts beat as one, Arteta accurately passed the football to his feet.

Wood’s pace was still a little messy when he first received it, but he quickly adjusted his pace and strode forward to dribble the ball. He had an advantage, which was discovered by Twain at Albertini’s reminder and that was Wood took big steps to dribble the ball. It matched very well with his speed, and he held his head up and rarely looked down at the ball. This kid had not slacked on his practice of basic skills, and it showed.

Xavi wanted to come up and intercept Wood’s ball, but his strength was not on the same level as Wood at all. Wood just turned his body and separated Xavi from the football. Xavi kicked Wood in the leg while he ran. Both staggered, but with different outcomes: Xavi staggered and fell to the ground, whereas Wood quickly rebalanced and continued to dribble the ball.

“Stop him!” Puyol shouted in front of Wood as Márquez rushed up.

Puyol was in the back, protecting Márquez at all times. If the Mexican was breached, he would immediately pounce over to aid. He did not believe that Wood’s footwork skills were good enough to quickly dribble the ball past two people.

Just as Márquez rushed up, Wood suddenly passed the ball. He did not pass it on to Ribéry and Ashley Young who followed at a high speed on the two flanks. It was passed on to Freddy Eastwood, who was received it in the penalty area.

After Eastwood received the ball, he swung his foot as if he wanted to shoot directly. He had scored a number of goals this season from this position. Puyol dared not ignore it and rushed up to block the shot.

However, Eastwood’s shot was fake. The pass was real. He pushed the football to Bendtner who was a little ahead. Zambrotta had been trailing at the back as he knew that Bendtner would be an attack point for the Forest team. He had anticipated correctly. Therefore, the Italian did not hesitate to press toward Bendtner to constrict him so that he could not shoot.

Unexpectedly, Bendtner did not intend to shoot either. He immediately pushed the ball sideways again after receiving Eastwood’s pass.

“It’s a wall pass!” exclaimed the commentator.

It was a wall pass between Eastwood and Bendtner, and it also began as a continuous triangular pass from George Wood.

Eastwood charged out from the heavy siege and received the ball in the penalty area, but was not offside. Now he did not even have a Barcelona defensive player around him!

Márquez could not get back in time from George Wood’s side and Puyol was still at the spot where Eastwood was, but he had come up empty. Zambrotta was entangled with Bendtner, but the football was not there!

Eastwood saw the football roll over and he looked up to glance at Valdés, in a hurry to strike. He swung his leg and made it looked like he was going to volley a shot, but his kick became a poke when it came in contact with the football.

“A lob! Gorgeous — and the ball’s in! Freddy Eastwood!! He opened the first record for Nottingham Forest! They bagged the Barcelona goal at Camp Nou! The first half of the game only just started ten minutes ago, and Nottingham Forest leads Barcelona by 1:0! What an unexpected start. Tony Twain had said before this game that the match was in his orbit. Perhaps this time he isn’t trying to divert the attention, maybe he was… for real!”