Godfather Of Champions

Although Beckham was specifically present for the press conference, and he, Tony Twain, and George Wood had pledged to Beckham’s professionalism, the media had the ability to “change something rotten into something magical.” They selectively ignored some things or distorted words to completely change their meaning.

The feud between Beckham and Manchester United had to continue because the masses liked it. The media would dig deep into what the masses loved to hear and see.

Twain smiled at Beckham, a variety of newspapers published the next day in his hands. “It’s totally useless.”

“Anyway, I said what I wanted to say. It’s up to them how they want to interpret it.” Beckham was unruffled. “Focusing my energies on being entangled with them may really affect my state.”

Twain smiled and wondered if Beckham was really unaffected at all, but he could not ask. He was afraid of being perceived by David as distrustful of him.

“It’s just a… typical league game.”

※※※

At the start of the season, Roy Keane led the newly promoted Sunderland back to Old Trafford and was warmly welcomed by the fans across the stadium. Apart from his position in the minds of and popularity among the Manchester United fans, it also had something to do with Sunderland not being a real threat to Manchester United. People always had the habit of showing grace to opponents that were not as strong.

But if the opponent was a team that competed with them for the league title and could likely beat them, it was believed that the treatment they received would be different. Besides, David Beckham’s departure had always been controversial. The landing point for his return to the Premier League had sparked even greater controversy.

Why was Keane so popular? Was it because he turned down Nottingham Forest’s invitation and would rather choose the Scottish Premiership further afield in order not to fight Manchester United? Why did Beckham not do that?

The number of reporters crowding the gate of Wilford did not decrease. They still wanted to interview Beckham, but Beckham no longer accepted any interviews, wanting to keep a calm frame of mind before the impending crucial game.

Accordingly, he arrived in a hurry and hurriedly left again every day. Under the reporters’ writing, he suddenly became conflicted, ill at ease, and showed signs of fluctuations in his form.

Fortunately, the Nottingham Forest team was on Beckham’s side. When the other players were interviewed by the reporters and asked about Beckham, they said, “everything is normal with David. He was just joking with us at the training ground, and I don’t think anything is different.”

“He’s normal. You came up with the abnormal stuff yourself.”

“I don’t think there’s anything unusual. We’re the ones who have the most interaction with David. If you don’t believe us, who do you believe in?”

“A rather normal league game is hyped into this big deal by you. We are calm about this.”

Even Dunn was pulled back to talk about his view. Dunn did not want to speak but the media would not let him go, so he used Mandarin to quickly make a remark. “The eunuch is more anxious than the emperor.”

“What do you mean?” The British reporters did not understand.

“Excuse me, could you translate that?”

Tony Twain smirked. “What he meant was: the Queen of England is not in a hurry, but you ball-less guys are more anxious.”

Some of the reporters who did not like Tony Twain thought he was taking the opportunity to insult them, so they peevishly complained to Twain for the attacks. Twain laughed when he heard them.

At first, he just threw his head back to laugh. Then he used Dunn’s shoulder for support and slowly squatted down to continue to laugh when he held his stomach.

He laughed until everyone around him was confused.

“You guys wanted the translation. I translated it for you, but you did not believe it.” Twain stood up.

Tang Jing, who was among the press, came forward. “Mr. Tony Twain’s translation was right. That was what Coach Dunn said.” She explained it carefully again, and of course, her tone sounded less acrimonious than Twain’s.

“‘Emperor’ can be translated as the Queen. A eunuch was a kind of servant in ancient China that specialized in serving the emperor and his queen… Before that, they had to cut off the thing… that is, to be castrated.” She made a cutting gesture.

The male Britons could not help but look down between their legs.

Twain laughed again. “The Chinese proverb means that the parties involved are not in a hurry, but the bystanders are. Beckham stated he doesn’t have any problems, yet you’re still unwilling to let go, which I find it very boring. Also, it will be Nottingham Forest, not David Beckham, that plays against Manchester United. My team will refuse to answer all questions about this topic in the future.”

Twain once again showed off his unreasonable side and rebuffed all the reporters’ questions.

He was fed up from entangling with the flies. They clearly had a lot of important things to do, but how could his mood improved when he had to face such a group of people every day during the start and finish of work?

※※※

Ferguson would be happy to offer conversational topics to the news media if the frequent hype about Beckham’s return to Old Trafford could cause Nottingham Forest’s entire team to lose its cool and get caught up in the fuss, but he did not know if it would work, because Tony Twain was clearly a coach who was very focused on the players’ mental state. He had just announced that he would no longer accept any interviews about Beckham. Apparently, he recognized the downside of being so entangled with the media.

As the day of the game approached, he did not want to talk about Beckham anymore. He approved of one thing in Twain’s remarks. The game was between the two teams and did not have much to do with a certain player. It was no use for everyone just put their focus on one player.

Consequently, he ignored the media and dedicated himself to the preparation work for the decisive battle.

When Tony Twain led Nottingham Forest back into the Premier League, he already robbed a young player from him — Piqué, who was now a defensive mainstay at the Forest team. Was robbing him of Piqué a one-time off chance or would it develop into robbing him of more things in the future?

Now, the answer was undoubtedly clear.

Nottingham Forest had changed from robbing Manchester United’s players to robbing the title.

Although Manchester United was on its home ground this time, Ferguson did not state that they would be certain of winning. He was aware of what type of team Nottingham Forest was — the stronger the opponent and the tougher the conditions, the greater the energy they exploded with. If they let their guard down, the advantage that originally belonged to them would become an incumbrance instead.

The game in which the Forest team eliminated Barcelona was a good point of reference. George Wood was no longer a negligible player when it came to the Forest team’s offense.

※※※

Time passed very quickly, and the Nottingham Forest team set off to Manchester on May 10th. A day later, the final round of the English Premier League would start together at the same time. Whether it was for the league title or to avoid relegation, it would attract countless eye.

It was rare in recent seasons to have no idea who would emerge the winner in the final round like this year. Nottingham Forest’s away challenge against Manchester United was naturally set for a live broadcast across the country.

The broadcasting station hoped that the two teams would end up with another war of words before the game to heat up the game even more.

Ferguson only talked about Manchester United’s title goal. Twain said, “I think this game is hot enough and doesn’t need to be hyped up.”

Neither side wanted to be used by the media as a weapon.

When Beckham arrived at the hotel where the team was staying in Manchester, he was received two very different types of treatments. A group of Manchester United fans chanted his name as they held up posters. They cheered and applauded him, and even made a “Welcome Back, David” banner. It touched him, but when he turned around, another group of Manchester United fans ruined his posters and shouted abusive chants to brand Beckham as a traitor.

The situation made him feel awkward, but he was an experienced star player and accustomed to these upheavals. Whether they were there to welcome him, or to call him a traitor, he waved and acknowledged them with a warm smile on his face.

When he transferred to Real Madrid, no one knew if he would still have a main position due the brilliant Figo on the right of Real Madrid’s midfield. His wife, Victoria, warned him, “there will be cameras everywhere around you. So when you get to Madrid, keep smiling, whether you’re playing on the field or sitting on the bench. Don’t let anyone see your real inner thoughts.”

At Real Madrid, a place that was followed by the international media twenty hours a day, he did incorporate that into his life. No matter what, he would not let the people know what he really thought.

He had to learn this skill to be a star, otherwise it was not so easy to make it in this line of work.

Beckham looked like his normal self. He smiled and waved to the crowd, leaving nothing that would make the media stir up trouble. Twain had to admire the professional star player from him, a person who was untrained. It maintained his image in front of the general public and would not affect making money or big fortune. People had to be able to endure hardship to achieve great success. Those who made the big bucks also needed to be able to endure hardship.

Twain could not withstand it, so he had few commercial contracts, and the biggest source of his income was his salary from the club.

But he was not going to change his temper. He had transmigrated after much difficulty. How could he let down the Heavens that sent him there by not living life to its fullest?

To have enough money to spend was enough. Money could not buy his happiness. That was the most important.

Countless reporters flocked toward Beckham, just shy of putting the microphones in his mouth as they scrambled to ask, “how does it feel to be back in Manchester, David?”

“All right.” Beckham replied with a smile, showing no impatience.

“What’s the outlook for tomorrow’s game?”

“That can only be known after the game starts. I don’t want to predict such things before the game.”

“Are you surprised by the Manchester United fans’ attitudes towards you?”

“I am very grateful to the Manchester United Football Club. I have wonderful memories from here and have a lot of good friends here too…” He said a lot of nice words, but didn’t answer the reporter’s questions.

As the group of reporters continued to ask, Beckham entered the hotel. When they saw Tony Twain’s grim expression, they wisely shut up.

※※※

Tony Twain and Ferguson met at the last press conference before the game, and there was no fireworks from a war of words like other days. The two only talked about their own teams’ preparation. There was only a little spark when the championship title was mentioned.

“I believe Manchester United will be the league champion this season.” Ferguson looked confident, a flush of color and a smile in his face.

It was obviously not possible to avoid the topic. Twain did not want to appear weak, so he also said with a grin, “Nottingham Forest is aiming for the Double this season.”

As the words came out, Ferguson turned to look at him. The expressions on the reporters’ faces changed.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Twain. Did I hear you correctly? Are you saying that Nottingham Forest is going to take the Double this season?” A reporter raised his hand and stood up.

Twain nodded and spoke in a confident tone, “yes, you heard correctly. At the beginning of the season, I said the Forest team wanted the league title, but now my plan has been revised. Since we have a shot at the league title and the Champions League title, why don’t I take both?”

He did not consider Ferguson, because his tone seemed as if he had already secured the two championships.

Ferguson glanced at Tony Twain, and his expression — a smile yet not a smile made — his thoughts unfathomable. When Twain finished speaking, he smiled at Ferguson, and there was not a hint of disdain.

“It’s good for young people to have drive. If my team had beaten Chelsea, I would also want to get the Double.” Ferguson did not respond in a confrontational manner as the media had hoped for. He just nodded and continued, “however.”

As soon as the topic shifted, everyone got excited.

“A championship title is not won with words.”

Interesting. Twain thought, is this a different way to issue a challenge? I accept!

“I had said last season that Nottingham Forest would win the Champions League title, and at first no one believed it. What was the result?” He spread his hands. “Some said I had spoken without thinking and some thought it was personal hype. But the results showed everything clearly. Don’t tell me that Nottingham Forest’s UEFA Champions League title last season was hot air? I declared today that the Forest team’s goal is the Double. If there’s anyone who thinks I’m bragging or joking, it will be revealed tomorrow after the game!”

With that, he nodded to Ferguson and got up to leave first. He left the room of startled men and the old Sir Alex Ferguson, who looked at his back thoughtfully.