Godfather Of Champions

The atmosphere on the training ground today was slightly heavy due to Twain’ sudden outburst in the locker room the day before. Kerslake initially thought that Twain would apologize on the spot once the players came arrived. He did not expect Twain to just wave for the team to start the training as normal and then stand silently on the side, wearing his sunglasses so that no one could see his eyes.

It made him a little disgruntled. How could he renege on what they had agreed upon?

But now he had to be in charge of the team training, and he knew that he had to protect Twain’s image in front of everyone. We will discuss the matter in private.

Twain did not give him the opportunity. As soon as the training was over, he gathered the team and made a formal apology.

“I have to apologize to you.” He said. Some of the players looked surprised.

“I know I blew my top a little yesterday. When I thought about it later, I felt some of my words were harsh. I can’t treat you like that because you’re all my players and we’re a team for better or worse. I shouldn’t have given you a dressing down for losing the game.” Twain said as the looks of astonishment on the men’s faces deepened.

Dunn stood behind Twain without any expression on his face. He was very familiar with the speech. Twain recited to him at least ten times yesterday before he was finally able to deliver it so smoothly.

“I know I’ve caused myself a lot of trouble with this mouth, but it’s definitely not my intention to give you trouble.”

Kerslake did not anticipate Twain to adopt such a humble stance. He thought at best that it would be “I am sorry for what happened yesterday.” He did not expect him to say so much.

“So, I’m here to offer a formal apology to you. Let bygones be bygones. Although it was not right for me to rebuke you all, losing a game was not a good thing either. I do not want to lose another game in the next round of the league tournament.” The last remark fully indicated that Twain was still a little unhappy.

The small crisis passed as a result of his voluntary apology. The team returned to normal and there was more laughter during the training. Twain still joked with the people around him, looking no different from before.

Twain did not say he was angry because he was stressed. Although he was really angry due to it, he could not say it to the players. He did not want to admit that he lost control due to stress. What would the players think of him? Would some think that their manager was actually a coward who was strong in appearance but weak in reality? Would they be disappointed, lose their trust in him, and no longer listen to everything he said?

Twain dared not gamble with people’s hearts, so he still had to act as if he were fearless to placate their hearts.

※※※

On March 29th, the final league game before the Champions League quarterfinals, Nottingham Forest easily beat Portsmouth, which came for revenge, by 2:0 at home.

Perhaps encouraged by Blackburn Rovers’ win over Nottingham Forest in the previous round, Portsmouth wanted to achieve three points from the away game, too, but they overlooked the factor that made the Forest team value the game.

The Forest team that attached importance to strong opponents, so it was not a surprise that they lost. The entire game was under the control of the Forest team, and Portsmouth lost without the slightest chance.

After the game, the old Redknapp helplessly said, “There’s nothing to say. The two teams are not on the same level at all.”

Wasn’t that the case? All of the Forest team’s targets were championship titles, and Portsmouth’s highest goal might be to qualify for the UEFA Europa League.

The two teams were not of the same category opponents at all.

※※※

The win over Portsmouth did not increase the pressure on Twain’s head. Nottingham Forest was second in the league, only three points behind the league’s number one team, Manchester United. The next thing the Forest team could do was to make certain they did not make a mistake and wait patiently for Manchester United to slip up, twice in a row.

The probability of it was low.

Twain sighed and temporarily put the troubles of the league tournament aside to prepare for the Champions League game.

The opponent was Real Madrid. It was an away game first and then a home game, which was Twain’s favorite schedule.

※※※

After Nottingham Forest played the league, they flew straight to Madrid for the pre-match preparation.

Tony Twain was no stranger to Bernabéu. The European powerhouse clubs were so few that they would encounter them repeatedly, but he and La Liga’s Real Madrid were brought together by fate.

The first time he had met Shania and taken her on a trip to Spain, they came to the Bernabéu stadium. He later led the team to play against Real Madrid in the Champions League and other tournaments on a number of occasions. He also got David Beckham for free from Real Madrid last summer.

Indeed, Beckham overshadowed Tony Twain this time in Madrid and became the media’s focus.

While doing their adaptive training at the Bernabéu stadium, countless media outlets huddled on the sidelines, waiting to interview Beckham. When Twain announced the end of practice and free time for interviews, a group surged forward to surround David Beckham.

There were quite a few fans in the stands wearing Real Madrid jerseys and holding Beckham’s posters and jerseys to welcome the Englishman.

“I am grateful to the Real Madrid fans for still remembering me even now. My four years at Real Madrid were fantastic and I am proud to have played for this great team.” The interview took place on the sidelines of the training ground. Beckham, who had just finished training, had fine beads of sweat on his forehead, and his training suit was soaked in perspiration. He gasped slightly for breath as he spoke because of the intensity of the training, but he still showed a charming smile and patience. The sun shone on his face, and the smile seemed warm enough to melt hearts. Suddenly, screams could be heard.

Twain was educating Wood on the side, “George, take a look at David Beckham. This is what makes a star player. He speaks measuredly, pleases everyone, and does not offend anyone. Your image gives others a sense of keeping people at a distance. I don’t think it’s good.”

George retorted, “You have offended all the people you can offend. Aren’t you still a star?”

“Err…” Twain was momentarily tongue-tied. He watched Beckham, who was surrounded with a smile on his face, and asked Wood, “do you wish to be liked or hated by people?”

“I don’t know.” Wood answered quickly.

“You don’t know?” Twain was a little staggered.

“Is it good to be liked or hated by people?” Wood asked.

Twain blurted out, “Of course it’s to be liked by people.”

“Then why do you seem so happy to be hated by people?”

Twain was dumbfounded again. He suddenly realized that George Wood’s tongue was getting sharper.

“Ah, uh, this… That… In fact…” Twain hemmed and hawed for a while before he eventually came up with an excuse. “When I dislike people, I hope they hate me. When I like people, I hope that they also like me. It sounds like it’s a mouthful, but that’s what I mean anyway.”

“Then don’t you think it’s just a delusion?”

“Hey, George!” Twain was a little annoyed. I know that it’s deluded but you really shouldn’t put it so bluntly.

Wood did not seem to hear the displeasure in Twain’s tone. He looked at Beckham and said to himself, “Woox says he wants me to stay true to myself, but I don’t know what my true qualities are. Sometimes I want everyone to hate me, and sometimes I want everyone to like me. Mom said I should try to make everyone like me, but I think it is difficult, because sometimes to let others like you, you have to do something that you do not like.”

“Hey, George.”

“Yes?”

“You are even more deluded than I am.”

“Maybe. Anyway, I think if a star player is going to do a lot of things he does not like, I’d rather not be a star player. In fact, I do not want to be a star. I just want to earn money, that’s all.”

“If you don’t want to be a star, how are you going to make money?”

“It’s pretty good now.”

“Aren’t you a star now? Everywhere you go, someone asks you for an autograph. Woox has signed you a few commercial contracts. Do you know the influence of those businesses? They are leading in their respective industries. Do you like it when you attend those commercial events?”

Wood did not answer but looked distractedly at Beckham.

After a while, he said, “maybe I’ll hate it down the road.”

Twain nodded. That much was true. People wanted to be famous and looked forward to becoming a big star when they were still unknown. Once they became the focus of attention and even their farts interested the media, they would feel special and amazing. But when they were really famous, they would slowly realize that fame was actually a painful thing. They had no privacy at all, and everything was exposed to the public. Even being secretly captured on camera picking their nose at home would invite ridicule and criticism. Furthermore, the people who laughed at and criticized would think it was acceptable because “you are a public figure.”

Twain went through this kind of mentality change. Just after he had transmigrated, he had hoped to become famous. Now, he began to feel that fame was not a good thing. When he went out to return a Turkish female fan’s cell phone, it was treated by the media as a “rendezvous with a rumored girlfriend.” Fortunately, Shania knew the whole story behind the matter, or he would not know how worried he would be.

He was quite careful about his private life. But if anyone else commented on his life and used the reason “because you are a public figure,” he reckoned he would say “to hell with public figures” to the person’s face.

Wait a minute… Why would I think that if Shania did not know what was going on, I’d be in a lot of trouble.

※※※

Beckham finally got rid of the reporters. The smile on his face had not disappeared from beginning to end. He appeared patient, kind, and gentle, which won a lot of people’s affection. The media finished their interview with Beckham and turned around to interview Twain. They suddenly felt themselves going from a sunny spring day to a cold and howling winter day.

“Don’t ask me about the lineup or tactics for the game. And don’t ask me how confident I am in winning,” Twain said with a straight face.

“Then what else can we ask?” Some of the reporters were displeased.

“Ah, we can talk about today’s weather.” A smile re-emerged on Twain’s face. “There’s plenty of sunshine in Madrid and I like the sun. Madrid is a very nice city. What do you think?”

George Wood started to pack up and leave. Not everyone would be interviewed by the reporters. Although he was the team captain, he was too low-key. Moreover, if someone came to interview him, he just dealt a few words. He was not David Beckham nor Tony Twain.

Beckham came over and seemed to be leaving as well.

The two men walked out side by side. When they walked to the exit, Beckham was stopped by a group of fans who leaned against the railing of the stands, reached down with their hands, and scrambled to get Beckham’s autograph.

Beckham did not show any impatience. He stopped in his tracks and smiled as he took the pens handed by the fans and signed the places they asked for.

Because George Wood was with Beckham, he was stopped as well and could not leave. He had to stand to the side and wait for Beckham to sign autographs.

If the security guards had not come over, perhaps the autograph signing would have been endless.

As they walked into the tunnel after they left the enthusiastic fans behind, Beckham smiled apologetically to George Wood. “Sorry that you had to wait there.”

Wood shook his head to show that he did not mind. He did not feel impatient while he waited, for he was lost in contemplation.

He thought of the first person to ask for his autograph and the first to acknowledge him, even earlier than Tony Twain.

If that had not happened, what would it be like now?

George Wood never thought of such an uninteresting question before, because people could not come back from the dead. But when he saw Beckham surrounded by a group of fans asking for autographs, he naturally thought about it.

— Give him an autograph. George, he’s your first fan. You can’t treat him so coldly. Squat down and sign!

— Here lies the beloved son of Michael Bernard and Fiona Bernard, Nottingham Forest’s most loyal fan, and George Wood’s eternal supporter — Gavin Bernard.

— George, you must become a big star player!

Would there be a little red in all that white?

“It’s good to sign autographs for the fans. I won’t feel impatient.”

Beckham smiled. “Other people said you’re ferocious and kind of a traditional English tough guy. They compare you with Vinnie Jones and Robbie Savage. Why don’t you try to refute it? We both know you’re not.”

Wood shook his head. “I hope the people I dislike hate me.”

“George…”

“What’s the matter?”

“You and Tony… Ah, no, boss are very much alike.”

Wood concurred wordlessly.