Godfather Of Champions

Moyes and the Everton fans did not expect that. Even the Nottingham Forest fans did not anticipate that the first goal of the Premier League opening match would come so quickly.

“This is the first goal of the 07-08 English Premier League game, ten seconds! If you haven’t turned on the TV yet, then you missed a wonderful goal! This is not one player’s breakout, this is a breakout from the entire team! It undoubtedly embodies Tony Twain’s overall football strategy!”

The commentator was quite excited. Breaking a record was always noteworthy. By the end of the game, there would be articles about the goal in the newspapers, on TV, on the radio, and online.

On the field, the Forest players hugged each other. They were the directors of the goal. Van Nistelrooy knew the accuracy of Beckham’s long pass and how fast Arshavin and Ribéry were, hence why he had suggested to everyone during the warm-up to gain the upper hand by a show of strength that way. Ribéry was a double insurance. If Arshavin was blocked, it would be up to Ribéry to complete the shot.

This plan was faithfully implemented and executed.

Beckham’s long pass combined with Ribéry and Arshavin’s speed scored the goal.

Ribéry was the contributing goalscorer. When he scored, van Nistelrooy was in the center circle. He saw the ball enter but did not rush to Ribéry. Instead, he turned and ran toward David Beckham on the right flank.

Together with van der Vaart, they hugged Beckham, and the three of them ran forward together to join the others.

“David Beckham! This is his first game back in England, and he made himself known again in the opening ten seconds. His iconic long pass brought to mind the player he was at Manchester United… Now, though he is wearing a red jersey, he is a member of the Nottingham Forest team. Nevertheless, welcome back, David!”

Beckham raised his arms and smiled radiantly. He looked especially dazzling surrounded by his teammates.

Perhaps some uninformed people would think that Beckham could assimilate into the Forest team so quickly because he was a world-class player and people had to respect him. It was not true. The Forest team valued strength, just like Twain had told Beckham’s agent, Simon Fuller, “as long as you have the strength and treat others sincerely, you will be treated as one of our own. We will not treat you unfairly.”

※※※

Moyes sat dazedly in the chair for a long while. He was familiar with Twain and this team. He had meticulously prepared for the opening match in order to curb the Forest team’s flank attacks on both sides. He also asked the team to actively plug in on the flanks and use offense to suppress the opponent.

He really did not think that the Forest team was so swift on the right flank. Even without Ashley Young, who was good at breakthroughs, their strength did not decline. They had Beckham, who could rip apart the opponent’s defenses with a single pass.

Which was faster, a player or the ball? Without a doubt, it was the ball. With Beckham on the right flank, the opponent’s defense would be that much more difficult.

It was easier to defend against Ashley Young. Whether it was to use offense to suppress, station more players to guard him, or compress space so as to not give Ashley Young a chance to break through. How would they prevent Beckham? Would they use offense to suppress him? After the Forest team intercepted the ball in the back field, the Forest team would not need to press ahead. They just had to hand the football to Beckham, which would allow him to use his precise long pass. It was in line with the Forest team’s defensive counterattack tactics.

From that point of view, even though they did not have a fast winger, the Forest team’s flank attack had now become more difficult to defend against because there were more variations.

Moyes finally reacted. He scratched his head. What could he do when his team trailed in the opening ten seconds on their home ground? It was too early to adjust. He did not have a plan and could only calmly observe before he took any action.

※※※

Everton was definitely not a weak team that could be intimidated easily. Once the Forest team was in the lead, the players adjusted themselves on the field.

Nottingham Forest was a European champion and currently considered a strong team in the Premier League. Everton did not think that it would be easy to beat their opponent, even if it was a home game. The goal concede was within their plan. It just came so early that it was a shock to the team. Despite their careful preparations before the game and full anticipation of the difficulties of this game, the rise in the Forest team’s strength was unexpected.

After Everton completed the adjustment in midst of the home fans’ cheers, they began to try to fight back.

Everton’s midfield had two players to watch out for. One was the Australian, Tim Cahill, and the other was Mikel Arteta, who had just transferred from Nottingham Forest. Cahill had played in Everton for years, while Arteta was the new core of the midfield Moyes intended to develop in the new season.

Whenever Everton attacked, the football would be handed over to Arteta to be directed by him.

Cahill was not a midfielder who was good at organizing offense. He was more like an attacking midfielder with an outstanding scoring ability. Arteta was a typical “number four” from Barcelona’s training camp, equivalent to “the quarterback” in American football — responsible for passing the ball to launch the attack and to control the team’s pace.

Twain was extremely familiar with Arteta. After all, he had played on his team for two and a half years. He knew Moyes bought Arteta to build Everton’s organizational core. Arteta was bound to be entrusted with that responsibility for the game. Therefore, he instructed Wood that his target for this game was Arteta.

The other players’ tasks were laid out by Dunn. Only Wood’s task was arranged by Twain himself. Twain was used to the job and his way of talking with Wood, and Wood might not listen if it were from a different person.

It was simple for Wood to freeze Arteta. Twain did not need to tell Wood what kind of player Arteta was, what his skills and habits were, and how he liked to play. Surely he had this knowledge since the two people had trained and played on the team together?

Twain only told him to “freeze Arteta completely.”

Mikel Arteta received a pass from his teammate. It felt strange to be playing in the game. Even though the players clad in the blue jerseys were his teammates, sometimes he had the illusion of treating the players clad in the red jerseys as his teammates. He was with the Forest team for two and a half years and had only been with Everton for one and a half months. His opponents were familiar faces, and he knew their playing habits and interests in life. But he did not know enough about his Everton teammates…

He wanted to find a target to pass the ball to. When he looked up, red jerseys filled his view, which was what he was accustomed to… Arteta shook his head and tried to shake off the thought.

The Spanish midfielder hesitated slightly, and his ball was intercepted by Wood.

The intense pain coming from his body brought him back to reality at once. He was a member of Everton. Usually he could only play against Wood one on one during the team’s internal matches, but now he would truly compete against him at least twice a season.

Wood had intercepted the ball and was about to look for someone to pass the ball but was pushed to the ground by Arteta, who was back in reality.

The referee’s whistle rang and ruled that Arteta had fouled, which gave Nottingham Forest a free kick near the center circle.

Despite the foul, Arteta won thunderous applause at Goodison Park Stadium. He declared his break from the Forest team with his actions and won the favor of his new owner’s fans.

Wood had just gotten up when a hand shot out in front of him. He looked up to find that it was from Arteta.

Wood did not take his hand, but said with a straight face, “we’ll shake hands after the game is over.”

Arteta was not annoyed. He knew the guy’s character. There were only two kinds of players left in the world while the game was played: their own people and their opponents.

He used to be Wood’s own people, and now he was the enemy. He used to be protected by Wood, and now he…

Hey, what’s the point of thinking so much? Let’s rumble!

※※※

Everton and the Forest team were in a deadlock in the midfield. Both sides were heavily engaged, and there was a fierce contest there. Wood closely marked Arteta and van der Vaart was surrounded by Lee Carsley and Thomas Gravesen.

Tony Twain was not displeased with the standoff. He was glad to see it. The Forest team was the least afraid of such deadlocks, especially when they were already ahead.

They would slowly drag it out with the opponent to wear down the other side’s patience and fighting spirit to make them impatient. Then they would take the opportunity to fight back and take the lead with two goals. The situation would become more favorable.

As a result, the Forest team’s game was not nice to watch. How could it be entertaining to watch with such a deadlock?

However, did they want to keep the game in such a gridlock?

If they were the former Forest team, they would wait for the opponent to get impatient when encountered with such an impasse. Otherwise the flank could not be cracked open and the effectiveness of the attack would be greatly reduced. If the score was not 1:0 with the Forest team in the lead, Twain really did not have a more suitable method if they were to meet with a sophisticated and cunning opponent.

That was not the case anymore. The Forest team’s flank did not need space to let loose.

Wedged between a double team, van der Vaart passed the ball to Beckham on the right flank. Compressing the space was useless to David when he did not break through. Preventing him from passing was the way to go… But how should they prevent his passes? Should they pounce on him and entangle with him?

What about the void behind them when they rushed up? Beckham could choose not to do a long pass and divert it to his teammates who came plugging in to receive. Then he could be off the ball and shake off the defense. As long as the football was out, there were dozens of ways to press forward for professional players.

In other words, the player who would only break through was not scary, and the player who could pass the ball was the scariest.

With Beckham’s signature long passes present, Moyes only had two strategies. One was to compress the space behind and not let the Forest team’s strikers receive the ball easily. That was easier said than done. The form of the game was ever-changing, and it was important for the rear defensive line to maintain the formation, rather than follow the two strikers running around. The second was to set an offside trap. This was the simplest and most commonly used method. Beckham’s long passes were penetrating. The penetration force sometimes meant offside.

Everton created the offside trap in the game and the rear defensive line pressed closely. Arshavin and van Nistelrooy were offside twice in a row.

Twain got up and walked to the sidelines. He whistled to draw the attention of the players, and made a gesture that instructed the players to continue to stick to the straight passes and increase the wall passes at the same time.

Let Moyes set the offside trap if he wanted to. The Forest team continued with straight passes. Even if they were offside nine times out of ten, as long as they eventually succeeded, it would be a kill!

Moyes knew that it was risky to set an offside trap. Twain showed every possible consideration in sending the risk their way.

Van der Vaart took advantage of a dead ball and turned to a few of his teammates around him in the midfield. “We’ll coordinate right in front of their rear defensive line. Don’t be afraid of mistakes. We have George at the back if we lose the ball! We just need to succeed once… ” He clenched his fist, and everyone understood what he meant.

Nottingham Forest had never been overtaken by an opponent with a two-goal lead!

The remainder of the game was repeatedly interrupted and restarted amidst the referee’s constant whistle. The fouls and offside continued to deadlock the game.

By halftime, the score was still 1:0 with Nottingham Forest in the lead.

※※※

During halftime, Twain praised the team for their performance. While the goal was a credit to a handful of players, this score was the result of the entire team’s effort.

In particular, Arteta was apparently established as the core of Everton’s midfield by Moyes after one and a half months, but Wood finished the task successfully.

At the end of the first half, Arteta’s blue jersey was scuffed until it was almost into a blue-green color and he also had some grass on his face. He looked like a mess, but Arteta was familiar with it, because the majority of Wood’s opponents ended up like this.

Wood did not look much better.

He sat in his place to rest while he listened to Twain about what to do in the second half. Bale came over and touched his arm lightly. “George,” he called in a low voice.

Wood glanced at him.

“How did it feel to go one-on-one against Mikel in an official match?”

“You can experience it for yourself.”

“You know I’m not playing.” Bale said with a miserable expression. He had meticulously styled his hair, but was not able to appear in front of the national television viewers, which was very demoralizing.

Looking at the little monkey’s troubled look, Wood couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s all my dad’s fault. He gave me a dressing down for a long time when we were about to leave. That’s why I was late. It turned out that I was supposed to start…”

Bale was still chattering in a low voice when he suddenly heard someone call his name.

“Bale, Gareth Bale.”

He sprang to his feet, “Huh?”

It elicited a burst of laughter in the locker room.

Twain did not know whether to laugh or cry at the “uncommonly tall” Bale. “Have you just been daydreaming?”

“Ah, uh… ” Bale scratched his head and apologized, “I… I’m sorry, boss. I was distracted.”

“I said, if we’re still at 1:0 twenty minutes into the second half, I’ll consider bringing you on, so you’d better get ready.” Twain had to repeat what he had said.

“That’s great!” Bale could not help but shout like a child who had gotten his most treasured toy. His behavior prompted another burst of laughter from everyone.

Bale happily sat down amidst the sounds of laughter and winked at Wood.

Twain went on to say, “if we can hold on to the score until twenty minutes into the second half, Everton will inevitably become agitated. It will be impossible for the offside trap they created to still be so organized and unified like the first half. Holes will emerge. Bale, if you play, your main task is not defense. Instead it will be offense and assist the team’s offense on the left flank.”

Bale nodded repeatedly. Although he was presently a left-back, he was far stronger in offense than defense, because he was originally a left attacking midfielder. When defense was needed, Twain would rely more on Leighton Baines. When the offense was required to be unleashed, Bale was undoubtedly the most suitable.

Going over the tactics did not take much time. The situation was good for the Forest team, so Twain did not waste time talking nonsense. He let the players have a little free time and relax for the rest of the halftime period.

Beckham was very popular because he never put on airs in the locker room. After they got to know each other, everyone liked to chat with him. There were quite a few people around him, and Bale also squeezed over. It was his goal to become a world-class star player like Beckham. Of course, he could not improve his fame and strength at present. Improving his image was the most convenient and fastest.

He applied a lot of hair gel into his hair and meticulously combed it into a Mohawk which reflected the lights in the locker room, making it very striking.

“Hey, little monkey, are you going out on a date with your girlfriend?” Van Nistelrooy noticed Bale standing beside him and wanted to touch his head with a grin, but the other party managed to evade.

“Hey, don’t touch it, Ruud. It took me a long time to get it like this!” Bale jumped to avoid van Nistelrooy’s hand.

“It will be messed up when you play.” Wood suddenly piped up at the back.

It was the same thing that his father said, and Bale glanced at Wood. Wood had a head of black hair. It almost touched his shoulders. His hairstyle was… not a style at all. A simple center part split his hair down the middle and over both cheeks. When his hair got messy during the games, he just used his hands to swipe his hair in order. It was effortless.

Furthermore, it was said to be an image specifically designed for Wood by his agent, Billy Woox — Wood’s image was his distinctive character. Woox thought that the world was full of all kinds of pretentious and affected stars with their every action and word calculated thousands of times before they acted and spoke. A man who was clearly outspoken and brash had to act tactful and reserved in public. Moreover, everyone liked the erroneous perception.

Therefore, he asked Wood not to pretend and be his usual self in public. He believed that a man with true nature would win more acclamation.

“There’s hair gel.” Bale retorted.

Wood did not continue the topic. He moved out of sight wordlessly.

The locker room door was pushed open and Kerslake appeared at the door. He clapped his hands and announced, “All right, guys! It’s time for us to play!”

Wood was the first to walk towards the door, and the rest followed him out of the locker room.

As Beckham passed by Bale, he patted him on the shoulder and winked at him.

Was that an encouragement? Bale clenched his fist with joy.