Godfather Of Champions

“I’m sorry that the spectators did not get to see the spectacle of me jumping into the sea. Maybe next time I should say, ‘If I win, I’ll jump into the sea.’ Would it be better?”

LCD televisions everywhere in the airport lounge screened Twain’s interview with the BBC.

The Forest team’s charter plane was about to arrive at London Heathrow.

During the exclusive interview in the morning, Twain promised to hand over the broadcast right to BBC for the Forest team’s party to celebrate the team’s victory this evening, as a compensation.

As for the rest of the media… he did not care.

It was clearly stated in the contract that the agreement would only come into effect on the premise that the Forest team had lost the game, so he did not have to be held liable for it. Twain gave the right to BBC for the live broadcast of the celebration only because he had collaborated with BBC at the World Cup in Germany and the relationship between both sides was good.

“Well, I now have some regrets about selling the rights for the live coverage to the media in England.” Twain was well-dressed, radiant and smiling on the television screen. “Maybe it would have been better if I had sold it to the Italian media? That way, I could have watch them sell all the ads, vowing to broadcast my jump live on air… Ha! I’ll learn for next time.”

There was a burst of laughter among the crowd watching the television.

Almost all of them were fans who had rushed from Nottingham. They came to the airport early to welcome the Forest team and even set up the red banners that read: “Welcome home, our European Champion — Nottingham Forest!”

Not only did they have a banner, all of them held a newspaper in their hands. It was a special issue from Nottingham Evening Post for the Champions League final, which the editorial department and print production rushed out overnight after the game.

The front page was printed in color. Other than their masthead, the entire page was in red with a golden number “3” on it. The top and bottom of it were a row of golden letters “The Champion — Nottingham Forest.” It was the Forest team’s commemorative t-shirt which was worn for the award ceremony after they took the title.

There was no other word on the front page besides that. As the newspapers were only sold in the Nottingham region, their readers were all from Nottingham and did not need much explanation. The Nottingham Forest fans knew what it meant.

Pierce Brosnan sent it to the editorial office as an idea for the front page and was approved immediately.

The Forest fans who came to meet the plane even held the newspapers as a fitting sign and mark of their identities. They raised the newspaper whenever they saw other people, and then everyone would smile at each other — all of them were Forest fans!

There were about twenty odd media outlets surrounding the group as they waited with them for the plane to arrive.

A season ago, when Twain and his team flew back from France only the hardcore fans and a few reporters from Nottingham and The Sun, who waited to ridicule Twain, were there. People lacked interest in a loser. No one wanted to be a loser, and no one cared if the loser wanted to be a loser.

※※※

Through the window, Twain could already see the mouth of the River Thames under the clouds, the shimmering water reflecting the sun’s rays. He turned his head and looked at the Champions League trophy next to him, which also glowed in the dazzling silver light.

“It’s gorgeous…” He murmured as he reached out to touch the curved outline of the trophy as if he were caressing his wife’s naked body — of course, if he had a wife…

After a night of wild revelry, the players were exhausted and had been sleeping since they boarded the plane. Only a few were still awake.

Twain and Dunn were the few. Dunn did not sit with Twain. He went to the economy class and said to have accepted an exclusive interview with Tang Jing. Twain snorted. What kind of interview continued from the night before to the following afternoon?

There was a jolt, and the voice of the flight attendant came on the intercom. “Dear passengers, we are experiencing a little bumpiness as our plane is starting its descent. Will all passengers please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts.”

Some of the players woke up and looked around blankly before they realized they had reached the British airspace.

Twain, who did not listen to the flight attendant’s instructions, stood up with the trophy and roared out in the loud voice he used to direct games, “get up, lazybones!”

There was a rustling sound in the cabin, and everyone poked their heads out of their respective seats in a few moments. Most of them still looked sleepy and blank.

“Should I really give you guys a mirror each to look at yourselves — is this what the European champions look like?” Twain made a sleepy appearance. His strange appearance made the players laugh and chased away their drowsiness.

“The plane is going to land. Wake up. There are a lot of fans and reporters out there waiting. Don’t let them see your appearances now.” With that, Twain turned around and sat down.

After a while, Dunn also came back from the back, and sat next to Twain.

“The exclusive interview is over?”

“Yes.”

“I’m suddenly looking forward to the exceptionally long interview.” Twain whistled.

Dunn did not speak. He knew he was not as glib as Twain. If they continued the topic, he would soon lose.

A noise came from behind him, and Dunn turned his head to take a look. Then he tapped Twain. “Mr. Chairman.”

When Twain heard this, he stood up hurriedly. Sure enough, he saw Evan Doughty and Allan Adams walk toward him while they greeted the players.

“Looks like they’re here for you.” Dunn said and sat down in the empty seat across the aisle.

“Boys! You have done a great job, and I’m proud of your performance! The championship bonus will be honored when you return to Nottingham!” Evan smiled. He made a monetary promise, which was what the players wanted to hear most. Everyone whistled, applauded, and cheered.

Twain sat by the window in a three-seat row, with the championship trophy in the middle seat, and an empty seat next to the aisle. Dunn was about to move to another seat, but Evan lifted his hand to stop him

He reached out to Twain and asked, “can I hold that?” He pointed to the Champions League trophy.

“Of course.” Twain handed the championship trophy to him.

Evan held it in his hand and caressed it lightly. Then he sat down in the middle seat with the trophy in his arms.

Allan Adams sat in the aisle seat.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Evan asked as he gazed upon the trophy in his arms.

“Just like a voluptuous beauty,” Twain replied.

Both of them laughed.

“Well done, Tony.” Allan reached his hand across to Twain.

Twain shook his hand. “Allan, thank you. We couldn’t have gotten to this point without your financial support.”

Evan was happy to see his two main men getting along with each other, which suggested that there were no cracks inside the club, and he could still look forward to a better future and many more of such moments.

“Tony. You have brought such a big honor to the team and the club should do something.” Evan put down the trophy and gave it to Allan. “What would you like to have?”

Twain thought. “I want to get the club to invest more in the development of the youth team.”

When Evan heard him, he glanced at Allan next to him, and held out his hand. “Ten pounds.”

“Oh, hell…” Allan complained as he took out ten pounds from his pocket and put it in Evan Doughty’s palm.

“You guys…”

“Allan and I had a bet. He bet that you would ask for a raise or something like that, and I said you’d consider the development of the team building. Thank you, Tony. You helped me win ten pounds from him.” Evan chuckled happily.

“Hey…”

Evan did not let Twain continue. He put his hand on Twain’s shoulder. “Isn’t our youth always at the top of England’s ranking?”

“That was before, and we’re no longer so.” Twain wanted to shrug his shoulders but realized Evan’s hand was on it. He shook his head instead. “Chelsea’s new owner have invested a lot of money in the team’s youth training. They scouted for players everywhere, and we have people being poached. You see, all of the big clubs in the league have a good youth team. Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool… except us. Our youth training system is provincial compared to theirs. There’s a reality that frustrates me. After Bale and Wood, I don’t have my eye on anyone in our youth team ever since…”

“Maybe you have a high standard, Tony. Everyone in the adult team is a big star player now. So, it’s normal for you not to keen on anyone from the youth team…” Evan soothed.

Twain shook his head. “Maybe. But in the contest against those teams for those young talents, we are already at a disadvantage. That’s the truth.”

Evan nodded in agreement and continued, “But, Tony… I have something to say to you.”

The cabin gradually became livelier as more and more players woke, so Evan lowered his head and spoke in a low voice. Obviously, he did not want others to hear what he had to say next.

“It may be difficult for us to do what you just asked…”

“What?”

“I meant to say, we may not be able to put too much money into the development of the youth team in the near future. At least I can’t be as generous as Abramovich. Because… Well, Allan and I are planning to build a new high-capacity stadium for the team.”

Twain opened his mouth and looked at Evan with surprise.

He really did not think he would hear such news.

While he played the Football Manager game, a football manager could make various requests to the club’s board as the manager, such as improving the training facilities, upgrading the development of the youth training system, finding the satellite clubs, giving a higher salary cap and transfer fee budget, as well as expanding or even building a new stadium.

The last item was most difficult. When Twain played the game, he had proposed more than once for the club to expand or build a new stadium, and the answer was “no.” He even threatened to resign, and the result was the same — his appointment had led the team to win all the world’s championship titles, and he would be the top-ranking manager with the most achievements in the world and yet he would be dumped during the board meeting when it came to the choice of “a new stadium or a new manager.”

Just because the stadium did not have enough seats, he could be dismissed without hesitation by those damned club board meetings.

Due to his deep impression over this ridiculous matter, Twain did not even think to propose to the team to expand or build a new stadium even though he also felt that the City Ground stadium, which could accommodate up to 30,000 people, was ridiculously small and disproportionate to the status of the Forest team…

Evan looked at Twain’s expression and thought he was angry over the club’s plan to build a new stadium construction instead of giving money to improve the development of the youth team. He had wanted to explain. However, he did not want to create a fuss with his manager the day after they won the Champions League.

“Uh, Tony… Actually, what happened was…”

Twain lifted his hand to interrupt him. “Do you really have plans for a new stadium?” He looked at Evan and then at Allan.

In the end, it was Allan who nodded his head and explained, “Yes, Tony. We started planning during the semifinals. Evan and I both felt that the current City Ground stadium can’t hold too many fans, which is incompatible with our team’s current results in Europe and in the domestic league. As you know, a new stadium requires a lot of money. Just look at Arsenal’s predicament over those few years and you’ll get the idea. So once the plan is put into action, we really don’t have much money for your youth team, and I’m afraid there’s not much money for you to operate in the transfer market as well…”

Evan was always reluctant to play the bad guy so it could only be up to Allan to step forward.

Twain was not a fool. He looked at Evan who had his head bowed in silence. He looked at Allan’s expression and laughed, “Wait, you think I’m angry?”

When he heard him, Evan looked up at him.

“I’ve had the same idea as you. I also think that the City Ground stadium is too small… I’m very much in favor of the new stadium plan.”

The other two men were visibly relieved.

Evan did not want to hear any dissonant voices within the club.

“But…” Twain changed his tack. “we can still slowly develop the youth team. I hope to have at least a plan on how much money to invest each year, not much, but to maintain a continued investment. As for the transfer fees… I’m used to saving money for the club in the transfer negotiations over the last few years anyways. It’s okay if there’s less money. We have a strong lineup now and don’t need a massive transfer fee to replace the entire team. We just need to beef up in a few positions.”

Hearing Twain, Evan and Allan looked at each other and felt completely relieved.

“There’s no problem with the development of the youth team. I know that any big club must have a youth training base that matches their status. Besides, Tony, we have more players joining than leaving in our transfer situation in the past few years…”

Twain knew what he meant.

“When the transfer market reopens, there’s one player who will definitely leave.”

Evan and Allan did not have to ask him who that man was, because everyone knew.

“However,” Twain changed the direction in their discussion, “we may not make that much money from that person. He’s not as popular as he was last year.”

“Who told you to keep him out in the cold for a season?” Evan laughed.

“I’m not going to let anyone who opposes me leave the Forest team so easily.” Dunn shrugged. “He needed to suffer a little. Now I’m sure he has suffered enough…”

Allan interrupted him, “What if this championship title suddenly changes his mind and he wants to stay in Nottingham Forest?”

Twain answered Allan’s question without hesitation, as if he had long thought of the answer. “The result will be the same. He will leave. Allan, you know what? This is a great opportunity to let the players know who the boss of this team is so I’m not going to let it go.”

During the discussion, the plane jerked, and they landed.

“I’m on your side, Tony.” Evan nodded along with the jolt. “You have the final say in this team.”

Having said that, Evan and Allan left without waiting for the plane to stop.

Twain got up and called out to Albertini, sitting in the back, “Demetrio, come here!”

“What’s the matter, boss?” Although his retirement had been announced, Albertini still followed the team’s custom to call Twain “boss.”

“In a minute, you’ll come with me and walk in the front.” Twain pointed to the championship trophy in his hand. “The two of us will carry it off the plane.”

Albertini was hesitant, “I’m already retired, boss. You should get George instead…”

“Bollocks!” Twain swore under his breath, “Did I announce that the team was dissolved? This season is not over yet! If George wants to enjoy his share of the glory, he can wait for the next round! This time, it’s just you and me walking at the front. Not only here, but also on the way back to Nottingham, and finally at our celebration party… Until that time, you’re still the captain of this team.”

Albertini smiled haplessly, “OK, I’ll listen to you, boss.”

※※※

After the plane came off the runway and stopped on the tarmac, the reporters and the group of welcoming fans rushed forward, and the police in charge of maintaining the order struggled to hold the people behind the safety line. The situation was messy and noisy.

It was not until they saw the cabin door open that they suddenly calmed down.

The police officers felt the pressure around them suddenly relax and raised their heads as well.

The cabin door opened slowly, and the first one to come out was Tony Twain. He raised his hand to wave to the welcoming crowd below, while his other hand remained inside the plane. As he stepped out, the championship trophy appeared along with Albertini in front of everyone.

Instead of rushing down, the two men stood at the door and raised the trophy high.

The climax had arrived.

The fans below cheered in unison, and a firework of flashbulbs went off.

“Ladies and gentlemen… This is the UEFA Champions League trophy!” The live broadcast gave a big close-up of the trophy in the hands of Twain and Albertini. “The hands that had clasped this trophy used to wear the jerseys of Real Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Liverpool, Manchester United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich… and now it’s Nottingham Forest’s turn!”

A female presenter spoke movingly in front of the camera. Her words were heard by the fans next to her. As they yelled, there was so much pride in their words. “This is not the first time, not the first time! This is the third time we’ve held her! Nottingham Forest is the team that has won the UEFA Champions League three times!”

That female presenter was startled by the sudden shout and did not make a sound for a while.

Twain and Albertini held the trophy up high as they walked down the ramp. The flashbulbs had not yet stopped flashing.

Behind them, the Forest players filed out in a line. They had changed out of their jerseys and dressed in stylishly-cut dark red suits. This was the uniform that the Forest club gave to the players and coaches to attend formal occasions.

It made them looked energized and completely without the confused look of having just woken up. Twain looked back at his players and was pleased with the boys’ performance.

As Twain and Albertini walked down the ramp with the trophy, the police officers on both sides felt the great pressure coming from behind again. People desperately pushed forward as they tried to get close to the trophy that glittered in the sun.

Some of the police officers’ hats were squeezed till they were a skewed. The situation was chaotic.

Twain stopped and motioned for Albertini to join him in holding up the trophy again. Then he raised his hand and signaled to the fans to calm down, for he had something to say.

It was an effective move. The fans who did not listen to the police officers listened to the manager.

A young policeman looked at Twain, who had a smile on his face, and asked his partner next to him while desperately trying to maintain order, “is he helping us to stabilize the fans?”

The older policeman muttered with gritted teeth, “Devil knows… It’s nice that he does not make it worse!” The older policeman was unhappy to be assigned with the task of being in charge of safekeeping and maintaining the order in the airport. On one hand, it was because he was a Chelsea fan and did not like to see his opponent do so well. On the other hand, there was bound to be trouble wherever Twain was.

“Hey guys!” Twain raised his volume and roared like he was directing the game loudly on the sidelines, “Does anyone still remember what she looked like before I took over this team?”

“Yes, we remember.” Hundreds of fans present responded loudly.

“Now Manager Tony Twain is going to give an impromptu speech live…” The female presenter spoke in a ow voice into the microphone for fear of interrupting Twain’s speech.

“Does anyone recall what was the Forest team like at its peak twenty-three years ago?!”

“We remember!!” The answer this time was much louder because it was the most glorious period in the history of the Nottingham Forest Club, when they broke out from Second Division to become the First Division champions, won the Champions League two years in a row and set the longest unbeaten record of forty-two games in England’s top league before Wenger’s Arsenal. Liverpool, who dominated Europe, were beaten twice in a year: in the league tournament and Champions Cup. For a period, the red Nottingham Forest was unrivalled.

The names of Brian Clough and his men were engraved in the annals of the Champions League.

“Excellent!” Twain nodded and took the other handle of the trophy from Albertini. He raised the trophy high and roared loudly, “counting from that year to the present moment… twenty-seven years later! We’re back! Let the whole of Europe tremble! Let our opponents be afraid! Let those who despise us go to hell! There are more championship titles waiting ahead for us to embrace!”

Hundreds of fans followed their manager and roared toward the skies. It was just as the older policeman put it: The situation became messier…

Amid the frenzied shouts, that female presenter also had to raise her voice, “Manager Tony Twain gave an impromptu speech to his supporters at the airport, and he told these people that this is just the beginning! The is BBC, reporting live to you on the scene.”

When the female presenter finished her work, she turned her head to look at Twain, who held the trophy high among the crowd as he walked out. He smiled so brilliantly…