Godfather Of Champions

As the winner, Twain received more attention than usual at the post-match press conference, while Rijkaard sat next to him and watched expressionlessly as he answered the reporters’ ceaseless questions.

He used to be familiar with the setting, but the person who answered the reporters’ question non-stop was usually Rijkaard himself, while the man sitting next to him in silence was Tony Twain.

That was after last season’s Champions League final.

At that time, Twain had just given away the silver medal. Everyone thought that with his character, he would not attend the final press conference, which had almost been the case. When the press conference began, only Rijkaard was there to answer questions, and Tony Twain’s seat was empty. Halfway through the press conference, however, Twain suddenly entered the venue and sat in his seat with a dark face as he watched the beaming Rijkaard answer questions.

Rijkaard thinking of Twain as ungracious was due to the end of that press conference. Shouldn’t the loser congratulate the winner? Even if it was insincere, someone’s behavior also reflected on their personality and would win everyone’s favorable impression.

Twain had no such intention. He bluntly stated that the championship title should have been given to the team with the best performance, and the best performing team was Nottingham Forest. He also added, “I’m sorry that Barcelona could only beat a Nottingham Forest team of ten players.”

This remark maddened Rijkaard, who still brooded over it to this day. That was why he had been unhappy with Tony Twain. Rijkaard did not like to be confrontational with people and was a very low-key person. If Twain had not repeatedly insulted his team, why would he be bothered?

Unexpectedly, he and Twain actually swapped places in less than a year. Twain became the victor, and he became the reluctant loser.

He suddenly understood Twain’s mood — at the moment, he very much wanted to get away.

Regrettably, he was not Twain and could display that sort of “graceless” behavior.

Since he was unable to do it, he could only continue to be here to accept this disguised form of insult.

Twain certainly knew what it felt like to be a loser. While he enjoyed being in the media’s limelight, he was also laughing internally. “Every dog has its day, Mr. Rijkaard.”

Barcelona may have considered losing this game a disaster, but in the long run, it might be a good thing.

Real Madrid had a few lean and painful years. The current season, they had brought in the top-notch manager, Fabio Capello, and Real Madrid’s revival was around the corner. Barcelona was currently experiencing the pain that Real Madrid had had. The “dynasty of the second Dream Team” was a deformed product. With only a Champions League title and two leagues titles under its belt, how could it be labelled a “dynasty”?

Twain did not see it that way. If a team really wanted to build a dynasty, that was not enough.

If the loss of today’s game could calm Barcelona’s upper levels down and make them rethink the road ahead, then the failure would become a valuable asset. On the other hand, if the people at Barcelona could not see that and just focused on the outcome of the game, then they would suffer a lot of pain in the future.

It was up to Rijkaard and Laporta on whether or not they could realize that they were walking on the same old path as Real Madrid’s “Galácticos.” As for the outcome of that situation, even though Twain had joined the football world before it, he could picture it perfectly in his mind.

Sometimes he thought it was rather strange. Real Madrid’s lessons were right in front of them to be learned. Were Barcelona’s top people fools? They could not see it and were still doing their utmost to go down that path. Or was the lure of commercial interests so powerful that they would pursue it at all costs?

His defeat of Real Madrid at the Bernabéu stadium disheartened Florentino so much that it directly led to his resignation. The “era of the Galácticos” in Real Madrid came to an end. Could this time end Barcelona’s illusory “dynasty of the second Dream Team?”

He looked forward to it.

Finally, a reporter threw a question at Rijkaard, who had nothing to say about their elimination from the Champions League. It was a fact that they lost to Nottingham Forest. What made it worse for him was being destroyed in both home and away games. He very much wanted to be like Twain now and stubbornly refused to concede defeat.

But if he had really done so, wouldn’t he be very ungracious?

All the microphones were placed next to his lips, and everyone’s eyes were on him. Even Tony Twain gave him a sideways glance. He had to say something.

Rijkaard cleared his throat and slowly approached the microphones.

He intended to act more graciously. But when he was about to speak, he heard Twain’s laughter coming from the side. There was a sudden swoosh of anger in his heart.

I lost to you, but it doesn’t mean I have to accept your insults!

“We’ve lost, and there’s nothing more to say. No one is willing to be eliminated. Also, I’m looking forward to next season’s Champions League. I really want Barcelona to be picked with Nottingham Forest again.”

With that, he got up and left. This was the first time he’d ever left a press conference early as a manager.

Twain looked at Rijkaard’s unbending back, shrugged his shoulders, and whistled.

While Rijkaard had not yet left, he said to the astonished media, “look, when it was eleven players against eleven players, Barcelona couldn’t beat Nottingham Forest. I’m not talking big.”

Rijkaard, who was just about to walk out the door, suddenly paused for a moment, and then quickly continued walking.

“Well, ladies and gentlemen, I don’t want to do a one-man show.” Twain also stood up, “Goodbye.” He gave a wave and followed behind Rijkaard.

※※※

A few days later, various media reports were still making a fuss about this game.

Twain’s few remarks were quoted prominently. His feud with Rijkaard looked more irreconcilable with the media adding fuel to the fire.

He did not know if it would be possible for them to sit together for a drink when they all retired from their coaching positions one day and said goodbye to the world of football altogether.

He did not hate Rijkaard at all, but they were currently serving for their own respective teams. They would naturally consider things from whichever position they sat in. When he had been a fan, he did not even dare imagine he would be the arch rival with one of the Netherlands Three Musketeers.

Mourinho, Benítez, Ferguson, Wenger, Capello… These people, whom he liked or respected in the first place, had become rivals and enemies. This was truly a wonderful world.

Therefore, Rijkaard was not the first enemy of his coaching career and would not be the last.

With his obnoxious character, it would be surprising if he did not have enemies.

The only thing that pleased the Barcelona people was that on that night after the game, their nemesis, Real Madrid, was also tragically eliminated. This news slightly settled the hearts of the Barcelona people.

However, they did not know that this was the beginning of Barcelona’s nightmare…

※※※

The Forest team scoring a major victory did not mean that they could breathe a sigh of relief and celebrate. Tony Twain and his Nottingham Forest team would have more opponents to face.

Just after the Champions League game against Barcelona, Tony Twain would lead the team to London and their opponent was not just any team. It was one of Twain’s other enemy—Mourinho-led Chelsea.

Mourinho had been frustrated this season. He wanted to lead the team to defend their league title for the third year in a row but had been strongly crushed by the resurgent Manchester United. They had been suppressed to the second place on the league table. Nottingham Forest had been lying in wait behind them like a tiger watching its prey. Mourinho certainly would not think that Twain would kindly let him take a breather. If his team was not careful, the others could catch up with them and swallow them, bones and all.

Professional football was brutal. No matter how famous someone was as a manager, once the team’s results were dissatisfactory, they would soon be forgotten.

As the end of the season approached, everyone had to start to power up, whether it was to maintain their position in the league or to compete for the title. Twain was well aware the road ahead was perilous, so he made full preparations in Nottingham.

Every time he went to Stamford Bridge, he and his team faced a flood of deafening boos. He had just let Rijkaard and his team taste this and now it was their turn to taste it.

The tactics that Twain had developed for the team were simple — defend to the end. They had to defend continuously in the away game. If they could hold fast to one point, everything would be okay. He did not demand three points, because as a visiting player, one point was a victory to him. With eight rounds left in the league, Chelsea had six fewer points than Manchester United. They could only keep the pressure on Manchester United and still hope to turn the tables at the last minute by taking down Nottingham Forest.

If Mourinho could not get three points, what kind of state would he be in?

Would he fly into a fury? Would he turn and leave abruptly with a dark face?

Twain looked forward to playing against Chelsea and was particularly looking forward to seeing his “old friend,” Mourinho.

※※※

Stamford Bridge was full, which was the case every time Chelsea and Nottingham Forest played. Due to the feud between the two managers, both teams attracted a lot of media and fan attention.

They wanted to see the two managers oppose each other measure for measure on the field, on the sidelines, and during and after the game. After Ferguson and Wenger, the media were delighted that such a pairing had emerged from the English Premier League again, since they had been worried that when Ferguson retired, there would be no gossip or interesting topics to report about.

Before the game, a reporter unkindly brought up the record that embarrassed Mourinho — the losing record he had maintained against Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest while he helmed Chelsea.

It made Mourinho furious. His face immediately darkened, and he attempted to refuse to answer the question.

The media watched his unhappiness with delight. But if he did not answer the question, the media would also not get any valuable information, so they tried every means in hopes that he would answer it.

Eventually, he was forced into a corner, and Mourinho gloomily said, “I never pay any mind to those records. Arsenal had set a record of forty-nine consecutive unbeaten games. Did they finally win that season’s trophy? I do not deny that my team has not beaten his team. But you also cannot deny that the past two seasons’ league titles belonged to my team and not Nottingham Forest. Of course, you can turn this question around and ask Tony Twain. You can ask him why his team can stay unbeaten against Chelsea and not even win one championship title?”

These remarks were so lethal because he had cleverly turned the reporters’ attention in a different direction.

What was more important: to maintain an unbeaten record or win a championship title? Any fool knew.

As a Nottingham Forest fan and a reporter from Nottingham, Pierce Brosnan felt the need to take the man down a notch, so he stepped forward and said, “but Mr. Mourinho, you can’t deny that Tony Twain has done well these two seasons as a newly promoted team and a team manager who had been underestimated before…”

Mourinho interrupted him and nodded. “That’s right. He almost won the league title, almost won the Championship League. Unfortunately, in my football credo, ‘almost’ is the same as failure.”

His remark left Pierce Brosnan speechless. A championship title was the only measure of success in professional football, and since the Forest team had not won a championship title, they had to admit that they were inferior to Chelsea.

Brosnan was not someone who was eloquent enough to debate with others, so he grudgingly accepted his defeat.

It was not the end of the matter. Mourinho had left the interview area after that, but a few minutes later, Twain got off the bus.

Someone relayed Mourinho’s remarks to Twain in the hope of seeing Twain’s reaction.

Twain listened very carefully to the reporter’s recap and nodded with a laugh instead. “Mourinho’s wording is very interesting. Almost won the league title, almost won the Championship League. This is a good wording for the loser to conceal his failure. I am delighted to play against Chelsea because we will be fortunate to have Mr. Mourinho have a taste of ‘almost’ winning the league title at the end of the season.”

With that, he smiled and waved goodbye to the other reporters and quickly entered the visitors’ locker room.

Brosnan looked at Twain’s back and sighed. It turns out I do not have to take my own shots to defend against an injustice. There’s a more powerful character here.

※※※

When the players returned from their warm up on the field, Twain had already been waiting in the locker room for a long time.

“Defense.” When everyone settled down, he clapped his hands and said, “if we want to fight to the death against Chelsea using offense, believe me, guys, it will be our death instead. I’ll briefly analyze the situation for you. Chelsea is in desperate need of a victory and three points to catch up with Manchester United. With eight rounds left in the league, it’s better for them to win every game. A six-point difference is not a small gap. We just have to force Chelsea to a draw in this game and it will be a big blow to Mourinho. Playing defense in an away game is the safest strategy, anyway, but if you have a chance to score, don’t let it go either.” Twain shook his finger. “A goal can overturn everything. But I want you to keep in mind that under any circumstances, defense comes first. Make sure we don’t concede the ball first, and then think about how to get into their goal!”

Just as Twain said in the locker room, Mourinho had to win the game. He sent the strongest attack lineup to play. Drogba, Shevchenko, Ballack, Lampard and all the other attacking players who could be deployed.

In response to this situation, Twain used the 4-5-1 defensive counterattack lineup to counteract.

He used five midfielders to deal with Chelsea’s world-class midfield.

The effect was quite good. Most of the game, both teams had a closely-fought contest in the midfield. The Forest team’s tight defense and completely shameless roguish play made Chelsea miserable. Both teams’ mistakes kept increasing. The Forest team often lost the ball due to mistakes and Chelsea made errors during passing immediately after they got the ball which sent the football back to their opponent.

The Forest team was not afraid of making mistakes, but Chelsea could not afford to make mistakes. They wasted and squandered their chances to attack.

The game was a mess. There was no high quality offense from either side. The Forest team did not intend to play any high quality attack and use beautiful collaboration to pass the football into the Chelsea goal. Chelsea was keen to lay a high quality offense but were always blocked by the Forest team’s disruptive play at a critical time.

That was how the game passed.

Obviously, there were still a few chances. Chelsea created three of the most threatening opportunities in the game, especially one before the end of the game. After a series of amazing teamwork, Chelsea managed to rip apart the Forest team’s defensive line. But Drogba’s last kick overshot the crossbar because he used too much strength. That nearly caused Mourinho to hurl his suit jacket to the ground, while Twain heaved a sigh of relief and nearly collapsed against his chair when he saw the football fly out. If the opponent managed to get a goal in at the last minute, his team’s ninety minutes of efforts would be all in vain.

Ninety minutes later, Mourinho’s face was as cold as the South Pole when he looked at the 0:0 scoreboard and listened to the final whistle ring.

As if he had been given new life, Twain beamed. He took the initiative to walk towards Mourinho with his hand outstretched as he said, “my friend, you almost beat us.” He deliberately highlighted the word “almost.””It’s a pity that it was only just ‘almost’.”

Mourinho did not want Twain to be too smug. He knew that if he looked frustrated or angry now, it would be what the jerk wanted to see most, so he definitely would not let him get his way.

As a result, he plastered a smile on his face and said, “there are still seven rounds left in the league tournament, Mr. Twain, but one thing is certain. Do you want to hear it?”

Twain made to look like he was all ears.

“My team still has a chance to compete for the title, and your team won’t even have a chance to ‘almost’ win the league title.”

Twain’s face changed when he heard this, but he quickly returned to normal and said to Mourinho with a laugh, “then I wish your team good luck and strive to ‘almost get the league title’ as soon as possible.”

The two grim-looking man let go of each other’s hands at the same time and turned to leave the field.

Brosnan saw this scene at the side and shook his head. The two of them…