Godfather Of Champions

In the home team’s locker room, Twain gave Ribéry a fierce hug.

“Oh, Franck, if you were a beautiful woman, I’d kiss you.” Twain said lovingly, which made everyone laugh.

When the laughter subsided, he stretched out his hands, put up four fingers in his left hand, and put up five fingers in his right hand.

“Forty-five seconds. I’m glad we deflated Chelsea’s arrogance in time. I like this kind of game. Just when the opponent has a spark of hope, we make a move to extinguish it without hesitation!” He made a pinching gesture. “Let them go from heaven to hell and find out what is considered hardship in the world, the coldness of humans and the harshness of society!”

Everyone laughed again.

“All right let’s talk about the second half” Twain clapped his hands. The players gradually calmed down. “The situation is currently in our favor, which is the greatest advantage. Mourinho’s team wants to use high-pressured defense to disrupt the pace of our game and undermine our offense and defense. They almost succeeded. Fortunately, Ribéry equalized the score in the forty-five seconds that followed. I expect Chelsea to do the same in the second half and continue with their high-pressure tactics. Because, apart from that path, he has no other way to go.” He spread out his hands to make a helpless gesture.

“This kind of rushing and interception is physically draining. This is our chance. Don’t change anything. Just like in the second part of the first half, deal with them in the midfield and stabilize our defense. Don’t give them a chance to threaten our goal.”

The players nodded at the reasonable advice.

“After halftime, they will regain some strength. So, the first ten minutes at the start of the second half is key. Make sure you hold on and don’t let them score. As long as the score is maintained until 70th minute, the scales of victory will tip towards us. If the score is still 1:1, Chelsea will become impatient. They will press hard and, coupled with their strained physical strength, it will be our chance!” Twain extended his right index finger. “One ball, we just need one more goal and Chelsea will completely collapse!”

“Remember well, we will be the ones who go to Athens!”

“Yes! It will be us!”

※※※

Fifteen minutes later, the second half of the game started, and the two teams changed sides to fight again.

Mourinho stood on the sidelines from the beginning, watching the game with a serious expression and his arms around his chest.

He had told his players that the first ten minutes in the second half were the prime time to score goals and they must seize it, no matter the means used.

He was aware that Twain also knew, so he would surely instruct the team to pay attention to their defense.

Within those ten minutes, the Forest team completely gave up their offensive and everyone was stationed outside the penalty area to guard against Chelsea’s offense.

During those ten minutes, Chelsea made three attempts to score. Each time, it elicited a burst of exclamations from the Forest fans. They were just exclamations of shock, but nothing came to pass. The shots of Drogba, Robben and Lampard were all kept out of the goal line by the Forest team.

Van der Sar alone was not enough. There was still Piqué, Kompany, Chimbonda, Leighton Baines and George Wood.

Other than arms, which the rules prohibited usage of, they used every part of their bodies to block the opponent’s attacks. Chelsea’s forward rush was awesome? Then they would use long passes to send the ball forward. The Forest team’s current tactic was to waste time.

Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes, twenty minutes… They just dragged on until the Chelsea team started to get impatient and show signs of exhaustion. That was the chance for the Forest team to fight back.

Until then, the Nottingham Forest team had needed patience to wait for opportunities to emerge and to guarantee that they would not reveal a fatal flaw.

Just like that, ten minutes passed quickly. Chelsea did not score. It appeared as if they had lost their best chance to score.

However, Chelsea did not give up. They knew that it was very draining, but they still insisted on endlessly running and continued with their high-pressure strategy. They did not give up any chance that could threaten the Forest goal.

Twain looked at the time on the big screen. Ten minutes had already passed, but they could not relax because of that. He walked to the sidelines and cupped his hands. He shouted towards the field, “Don’t let your guard down. Continue to hold!”

Once Twain shouted and walked back, Mourinho came up over on his side and yelled out Shevchenko’s name, hoping that the world-class striker could get in form as soon as possible to break through the Forest team’s defense and for the team to crack the deadlock.

Unfortunately, the striker, whom Abramovich admired very much, was not adapting. In the face of the Forest team’s Italian-styled defense and lack of space, he could only be an assist player or attempt a few long shots.

Chelsea also tried passing from the flanks and used high shots to pass the football into the box, hoping that the comprehensive striker, Shevchenko, could compete for the header, but the Forest team’s defensive line was too tall. Control of the aerial space was their strength. Even if Shevchenko could head the ball, it would be deflected or go higher.

The most important thing was the Forest team’s defense encompassed of the entire team. Starting from the first line of defense built by the striker, all the way to the goalkeeper, everyone had to participate in defense. They compressed the three defensive lines into the narrow range of thirty meters. Because the team formation remained intact, as if it were a thick wall, it was not easy to penetrate.

The Forest team initially used this defensive tactic in the EFL Cup final of the 03-04 season. At the time, the comprehensive defense left McClaren’s Middlesbrough team helpless. It also helped Twain win the first trophy of his coaching career.

At the time, that game was criticized by the media as a flat and tedious match that would leave no trace in the forty-two-year history of the EFL Cup. It was meaningless other than giving Tony Twain a championship trophy.

Later, as the strength of the Forest team increased, Twain rarely used this extremely low-level tactic. Although it was seldom used, it did not mean that he would not practice it. Defense was always on Twain’s lips. He would not change his style due to others’ views. He instructed the team to practice a variety of defensive tactics, even if the “wall defense” was seldom used. He used to say to Des Walker:

I train them so that when the time comes for them to do it, they can do it.

This was his goal, and now it had been achieved.

※※※

What did one compete for during professional football matches? It was not the ball, or illusory things such as victory and glory. In the eyes of the coaches, a football match with its many labels only had two simple words that mattered — time and space.

It took time and space to handle the ball during offense and while defending, time and space needed to be checked to keep the opponent from controlling the ball.

A football game was actually a battle for time and space on the pitch.

Nottingham Forest’s wall-style defense was an extreme case of compressing time and space.

Twain could allow his opponent to pass the ball back and forth in the three zones of the midfield because it was still a big enough distance from the goal, unless everyone was like Beckham or Xabi Alonso, who could shoot the ball from the backfield to the goal. The key area of the defense lay in those three defensive zones, commonly referred to as the thirty-meter zone. It was an area where teams had to lay out their heavy defensive forces.

Why was a “wall defense” referred to as extreme? Because many other teams just positioned a complete rear defensive line there. At best, the two full backs were not allowed to assist in the offense and the defensive midfielder was required to help out in the defense.

However, Twain moved most of the three lines into the thirty-meter zone.

In addition to the center-forward near the center circle, ready to fight back, everyone else would withdraw for the defense. If necessary, the two full-backs could even retreat into the penalty area to act as center backs and let the side-midfielders temporarily retreat to take on the responsibility of the full-back.

Not to mention the two players in the middle of the midfield. Hailed as “born for defense,” George Wood and his other partner, whether it was Albertini, Arteta or van der Vaart, had to go back to defend when the coach needed them to. Van der Vaart was special and did not have to go too deep for defense, because he had to shoulder the task of getting the team to counterattack at the same time.

Under Twain’s guidance of “defense is the basis of victory” tactical concept and defensive tactics borne out of hard work, one could well imagine the power of such a lineup.

This was the second time Twain had sanctioned the team to use a wall-style defense, and it was used on Chelsea. It showed how much he wanted to go to Athens.

In the face of such a game, the commentator wanted to yawn. “We had thought that since the Forest team is back on their home ground and also in the lead, perhaps they would have the confidence to have a spirited fight against Chelsea… Pity, Tony Twain is really worthy of being the ‘most conservative manager.’ Regardless of the circumstances, he cannot forget it’s still defense, defense, defense… Even if he can make it to the finals, this kind of performance won’t give him a place in the hearts of the fans.”

If Twain could hear the live commentary, he would scoff at the commentator’s statements. He was not responsible for most of the neutral fans. He only needed to care about Nottingham Forest’s fans. If they were asked to choose between beautifully-played football and victorious football, nine out of ten people would say victorious football.

Why was that? Because these people had not been champions and away from the once glorious years for far too long. The glory of the past replayed in their minds all the time, reminding them how great Nottingham Forest used to be. Those years of the fluttering red jerseys sweeping across Europe had been so exhilarating that it was difficult to extricate themselves.

※※※

Loud cries suddenly rang in a corner of the stands.

Chelsea intercepted the Forest team’s ball again by relentlessly pressing forward in the front field and turned it into an attack. They used the skills of several star players to play an amazing set piece.

First, Makelele passed the football to Essien, and then Essien kicked the ball away under George Wood’s close marking and tackle.

The Forest team also did the same when Chelsea was in a close push against them.

Shevchenko was ahead of the rolling ball. Meanwhile, Leighton Baines had already taken aim at the striker, known by the English media as a “parallel import.”

Just as he was about to sneak an attack from the other side behind the defense, Shevchenko noticed movement behind him, and he cleverly pivoted away from Baines. He guarded the football and turned around in the opposite direction.

As he turned around, Shevchenko saw Piqué ahead of him. With such a close distance, it was still possible to force a breakthrough, but… he glimpsed Drogba in the middle, with Kompany marking him.

There should also be a better alternative…

He could not see a little further away because there were too many people and his vision was blocked. But from the usual training, he knew whom the area belonged to, and there was no reason why that person would not be there now.

Shevchenko made up his mind and swung his foot to pass the ball.

The shot was very powerful. If Drogba were to pick it up, he would not be able to stop the ball properly due to the strong passing force. It would give the opponent a chance to intercept the ball. Drogba was also aware of the situation. Clearly this ball was not passed to him.

He made to look like he was going to receive the ball to attract Kompany and the other defensive players to come closer, but when the football came, he separated his legs to let the ball roll between his legs.

Just like that, the entire rear defensive line of the Forest team was bypassed.

Robben obviously showed up where he was supposed to show up.

“Robben! He received the pass from Shevchenko! And no one marked him… This is a great opportunity for Chelsea!!”

The commentator shouted hoarsely, eager for Robben’s shot to pierce through the gate of Edwin van der Sar. Once the score became 1:2, it was useless for Twain to play conservatively any more. The circumstances would force this conservative manager to give up his conservative play and go on an all-out press to attack. Then the game would be exciting to watch again.

After he received the football, Robben adjusted it while Chimbonda had already turned around to pounce on him.

As his teammate of the Netherlands national team, Edwin van der Sar was well aware that it was almost impossible for Robben to pass the ball in the situation. He moved quickly to block the angle of Robben’s shot.

Chimbonda and Kompany moved toward Robben. As long as they coordinated well, this offensive crisis could be safely defused.

Just as everyone thought Robben would shoot and the Forest team’s defensive focus quickly shifted to him, Robben passed the ball.

He swept the football to the middle…

“Drogba shoots!”

Although there were people up ahead, The Beast swung his leg for the shot without hesitation. He knew the chance would be gone if he stopped the football.

Instead of flying into the goal, the football struck Leighton Baines on the arm…

When Baines turned his body to block the ball with his back, his arm was raised, and the football hit him right in the hand. With its momentum broken, the ball was kicked out by George Wood, who had rushed back.

Just as the Forest fans were ready to cheer their team for the narrow escape, the referee’s shrill whistle sounded.

The Chelsea players in the penalty area all held their arms high and motioned to the running referee for a handball foul.

“A handball from Leighton Baines! This is so obvious! We don’t even need a replay in slow motion!” The commentator roared excitedly. Although there was no goal, this situation could not be too far off from a goal, could it? The deadlock was about to be broken, and the balance of the scales had tilted.

The referee pointed to the penalty spot without any qualms. It was undoubtedly a penalty.

The Nottingham Forest players were stunned. Leighton Baines knelt on the ground with his hands on his head. He certainly knew he did a handball, but it was unintentional. The problem was now that the referee would not believe it at all. Otherwise, any player who did a handball foul could say that he did not mean it. It was useless to explain to the referee. He knelt on the ground with regret — why did I raise my hand?

He did not consider that if he had not raised his hand, the ball would have flown straight into the goal. Although it was a penalty, the good thing was there was a chance to decide whether the ball could go in.

The other Forest players surrounded the referee and pleaded with him to show that Baines did not intentionally foul. It was an unintentional handball. It was the ball that struck his hand and not a handball…

It was no use.

When faced with explanations, the referee shook his head. How could the verdict be changed now? Not to mention that I saw his handball with my own eyes. This is not the time for self-doubt and criticism.

Mourinho jumped out of his seat when he saw the referee award the penalty. He could not wait to embrace the people around him in celebration. The forward rush finally got him a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The penalty was the perfect way to end Nottingham Forest’s madness this season.

On the other side, Twain stared at the field with widened eyes. He could not believe what he was looking at.

They had worked so hard to hold… He looked up again at the big screen. They had held the ground for sixty-eight minutes, and were two minutes shy of seventy minutes, only to be sentenced with a penalty.

This is just messing with people!

“What the hell is this? What the hell?” He muttered in fury, “What the f**k is this!”

Dunn gently patted Twain on the shoulder. “Maybe things aren’t as bad as what you think.”

Twain turned to glare at him and snapped, “As bad as what?”

Dunn did not answer him, but looked at Edwin van der Sar, who stood in front of the goal and shook his arms repeatedly to warm up.

※※※

There was a smile on Mourinho’s face when he saw Twain enraged in the technical area. He won half the battle once the opponent lost his cool. The psychological warfare in football games was also very important.

He could almost see the goddess of victory waving to him, and the goddess of victory was dressed as an Athenian priestess…

With a wide smile on his face, Mourinho wondered how he would shoot the first round of verbal revenge after he won the game.