Godfather Of Champions

Real Madrid’s finance director, Sanchez, was still waiting for Ribéry to come forward and switch sides to give his battle for him a crucial turning point. However, the result he had gotten instead was for Heiderscheid’s request for them to continue to raise their bid until they satisfied Nottingham Forest.

This news shocked him and made him a little angry.

“Sixty-five million is still not enough? Does Nottingham Forest really want us to make an offer of one hundred and fifty million euros?”

“I’m afraid so, Mr. Sanchez…” said Mr. Heiderscheid weakly.

“That’s not possible!” Sanchez raised his voice and almost slammed the table. He had never met such a shameless, despicable, avaricious and insatiable team. “Ribéry is not worth one hundred and fifty million euros at all. We won’t even offer seventy million, not to mention one hundred and fifty million. Sixty-five million is our final offer!”

Tony Twain’s shamelessness angered Sanchez. He was the finance director of the world’s best club of the twentieth century. In terms of status, Tony Twain would not be catch up even if he tried. How could he act so arrogant in front of him?

“Mr. Sanchez, Nottingham Forest had already offered Frank a new contract. If Real Madrid does not give any indication, he will have to accept this offer to renew the contract.”

“We don’t plan to buy Ribéry with our entire transfer fund. The board won’t agree with me to do so. If he really wants to renew his contract with Nottingham Forest, I can only express my regrets.”

Sanchez’s words were cold, which sank Heiderscheid’s heart to the bottom of the ocean. He worked hard on this plan for half a year, and now it was wasted efforts…

“Wait, Mr. Sanchez. Maybe there’s still a way to turn things around…”

“Turn things around? If you have a way to convince Tony Twain, then this matter can be redeemed. But Mr. Heiderscheid, do you have a way to convince him?”

This was in fact a denial of Heiderscheid’s ability. Heiderscheid wanted to retort, but he immediately realized sadly that he really had no retort…

※※※

Ribéry flew back to England and then signed a new contract with the Nottingham Forest Football Club. This contract is for 2008 to 2013, with a weekly salary of up to one hundred and twenty thousand pounds. This contract made Ribéry the player with the highest-paid weekly salary.

This news was immediately posted on Nottingham Forest’s official website that day. Real Madrid knew their plans for Ribéry had completely failed… Sanchez lost to Mijatović, who could now have enough energy to pursue the indecisive Cristiano Ronaldo. To that end, Real Madrid even offered to use Robinho to make good as part of the signing fee for the transfer, which provoked strong opposition and resistance from Robinho. It led to the breakdown of his relationship with Real Madrid and he claimed that he wanted to transfer to Chelsea. But these were Real Madrid’s team matters, which Twain did not care. He had no interest in Robinho and did not want to profit from another team’s misfortune.

“I know there’s been a lot of talk about me this summer, but I’d say they were all rumors. I’ve never admitted to any of them. I became famous at Nottingham Forest and my heart belongs to Nottingham Forest. I love the fans here and I want to continue to win honors for you.” He told local media with a smile on his face at the press conference.

Twain also smiled and said, “I’m delighted that Ribéry has renewed his contract with us. Nottingham Forest’s brilliance is definitely more than just these two seasons.”

Ribéry’s agent did not attend the press conference for the signing of the contract. At this time, he cursed Tony Twain, berated Ribéry for failing to live up to expectations…

※※※

Having solved the matter with Ribéry, the biggest worry in Twain’s mind finally landed. The good news this busy summer was being able to hold on to the team’s main frame. Many Nottingham Forest fans were happy about it too. They believed that loyalty had made Ribéry overcome the lure of money. But was it true?

The average fan would never know the story behind every transfer deal. How many secrets were unknown to people behind those confusing transfers? Who was really right and who was really wrong among those who left or stayed?

Dunn and Kerslake were in charge of the team’s training. Twain’s current main focus was still on the transfer market.

Several clubs, such as Tottenham Hotspur and Keane’s Sunderland, had expressed interest in Chimbonda. However, they were both mid-to-lower level teams. Twain did not mind selling to sell Chimbonda there, but none of these clubs’ offers would satisfy his demands.

He put Chimbonda’s price tag at a minimum of eight million pounds, while Tottenham Hotspur only offered six million dollars, and not a penny more. Sunderland could only make a bid of up to five million.

Moreover, Chimbonda himself did not want to leave Nottingham Forest, where he still had a year left on his contract. He wanted to stay with the team and leave after completing the year’s contract. Twain certainly did not want to do so. If he waited a year before Chimbonda could leave on a free transfer, Nottingham Forest would not get a dime.

After much contemplation, Twain decided to renege on his words and accept Tottenham Hotspur’s six million-pound offer.

Chimbonda simply turned down Tottenham Hotspur’s contract. With a lower weekly salary than at the Forest team, this team had no ability to compete for the championship titles. He would not achieve anything there. He still wanted to win a few more championship trophies for himself— he believed it was possible to do so if he followed Tony Twain—and then leave.

The negotiations were at an impasse.

Twain did not have time to watch Chimbonda. There were the other players whom he needed to worry about.

※※※

Sidwell’s situation was quite the opposite of Chimbonda’s. There were a number of teams who wanted to bring him in, and he insisted that he must leave the Forest team. But Twain did not want him to go. Twain did not strong-armed Sidwell this time.

On the face of it, it sounded nice to say “I will never forget my year at Nottingham Forest” —of course it was unforgettable. As the midfield core of the Reading team and England’s star of hope, he ended up sitting on the bench for a year at Nottingham Forest till his buttocks were almost covered with sores. He could not forget even if he wanted to. “I’m grateful for my time at Nottingham Forest, where I’ve learned a lot of things” —He learnt how cruel professional football was. He learnt how to be patient and that being the core of a small team counted for nothing in a big team. “I have no complaints against Nottingham Forest” —This was for certain. Who would dare to go against Tony Twain?

In short, Sidwell was determined to leave no matter what and no one could pull him back.

In the end, Twain sold his substitute for the defensive midfielder position whom he brought in on a free transfer year ago to Aston Villa for a price of five million pound. Both Tony Twain and the Aston Villa manager, Martin O’Neill admitted they were optimistic about his ability. But the biggest obstacle to his rise to become a good midfielder at Nottingham Forest was not his ability, but George Wood, this steady monster.

After he sent off Sidwell, the task of finding a replacement for Wood was imminent. But Twain did not fully put his hopes in the transfer market. Kompany was a good candidate. He could play both as the center back and as the defensive midfielder on occasion. Twain intended to focus on his development in both positions.

After all, for the current rear defensive line, Kompany must be able to play multiple positions if he wanted more opportunities to play.

He had no problems in terms of his physical quality. He just needed to re-distinguish the difference between the defensive midfielder and the center back.

※※※

Twain did not stop when it came to the pursuit of players. Bosingwa was his biggest target this season. However, he encountered Chelsea and Manchester United. He could still manage Manchester United, but Chelsea was almost a rival that Tony Twain could not defeat.

It had a wealthy owner, a growing number of Portuguese players in the atmosphere, as well as one of the most important factors—Scolari had officially become the Chelsea manager after The UEFA European Football Championship.

Bosingwa was the Portugal national team’s main right back and Scolari was very familiar with him. He was also very familiar with this manager. It was obviously better to join Chelsea than to go to Nottingham Forest. Because of going to Nottingham Forest, Bosingwa did not know the team’s tactical style and if the manager’s personal style was suitable for him. But there was no such trouble if he joined Chelsea.

Nottingham Forest could still afford to offer the transfer fee of twenty million pounds. But the player’s personal will played an important role at this time. He wanted to join a team where he knew the manager well. Chelsea eventually took Bosingwa for just sixteen and a half million pounds, causing Twain to do a month of useless work.

Twain did not even dare to consider a right back like Dani Alves who was too expensive…

The failure in Bosingwa’s transfer was certainly bad news to Twain, but perhaps it was good news for the other guy.

Twain had to suspend talks with Tottenham Hotspur about Chimbonda’s transfer due to the difficulty in the current transfer market to find a right back candidate that would meet his requirements. He must now consider the possibility that he might not have a way to bring in a high-level right back this summer. If he let go of Chimbonda at that time, then the right-hand side would be empty at the start of the league tournament.

For Chimbonda, this change was a good thing. As long as Twain had no intention of selling him this summer, he would certainly be getting a new contract. Because Twain definitely would not allow his players to be sent away for free after a year, even if he did not like the player himself anymore…

Sure enough, two days later, his agent received a call from the Forest Club inviting him to discuss a new contract for Chimbonda.

The new contract was signed for a three-year period and the weekly pay was the same as it was now.

Breaking his original plan to renew the contract with Chimbonda did not mean that Twain had changed his mind about Chimbonda. He planned to use this cushion of time to continue to look for a trusted right back. Once he found the right person, Chimbonda still could not escape the fate of being sold.

Did Chimbonda know this? He must be aware, but he hoped to regain the boss’s trust and acknowledgement during this period.

In fact, he had no other way. He liked his life in Nottingham and was completely used everything here. He really did not want to leave Nottingham. He bought a house here and his family lived in Nottingham. His children also went to school here. Being selected for the France national team was not something he could consider anymore. He wanted to play in a stable environment till he retired and earned enough money to support his family.

In the end, Chimbonda stayed at Nottingham Forest as he wished. While Twain felt very unhappy for having wasted a month, only to come back around in the end without achieving anything.

However, there was a news which was of comfort to him.

※※※

Grosso’s transfer talks had a breakthrough development.

Before this, the France Ligue 1 champion, Lyon and the Serie A team, ACF Fiorentina both hope to bring in Grosso. Grosso himself wanted to return to Italy because he realized that he was not suited to play abroad. But the prices offered by Fiorentina and Lyon had a big difference.

Lyon offered Grosso nine million euros, while Fiorentina only offered seven million. When Nottingham Forest brought Grosso to England, it cost seven million euros. After the UEFA European Championship where Grosso’s outstanding performance spoke for itself, there was no reason to sell at the same price.

As a result, Twain did not have to think about it. He agreed to Lyon’s offer and turned down Fiorentina.

But Grosso himself wanted to return to Italy, so the negotiations stalled.

Fortunately, Lyon’s sincerity impressed Grosso. Another important reason was that Grosso realized that he was absolutely unable to defy Tony Twain’s will at Nottingham Forest. If Fiorentina did not raise prices, Twain would not agree to his return to Italy. Then he only had one option—to negotiate a contract with Lyon.

In the end, Lyon signed Grosso for nine million euros. It was two million euros more than the price that they wanted to bring in the left back from Inter Milan a year ago. But they felt it was worth it because Lyon was already in a tight spot with the left back position. Abidal went to Barcelona last season and Jérémy Berthod was also on his way to Monaco, so it was imperative to bring in a high-quality left back.

Grosso could not adapt to the English Premier League, but it did not imply that he could not adapt to the France Ligue 1. Lyon was still confident of this player for a world champion.

※※※

The renewal of Ribéry’s contract was good news while Sidwell’s departure was considered tolerable news. The failure to bring in Bosingwa was bad news, and Grosso’s transfer success had brought good news to Twain at this time. The recurring theme of Tony Twain’s summer was the constant stream of alternating good and bad news in front of him, tormenting him from side to side till he felt overwrought.

Now Arshavin had brought a swarm of flies to Nottingham Forest thanks to his stunning performance at the UEFA European Championship. In addition, Barcelona’s newly appointed manager, Guardiola had also made the announcement that the team was going to focus on defense, causing the Catalan media to make eyes at Piqué which troubled Twain.

There was also the constant bad news with regards to replenishing the midfield. Javi García and Rubén de la Red, whom Twain was keen on before the UEFA European Championship, were already taken by Real Madrid which used the buyback clause to recall Javi García and Rubén de la Red. Now they appeared at the Austrian training camp, dressed in Real Madrid’s white jerseys.

Twain had no choice but to turn his attention to the Spain national team’s other outstanding defensive midfielder at the European Championship— Marcos Senna.

In the European Championship, it was Senna’s tireless running and shoveling defense in the midfield that led Spain all the way to the final and eventually picked up the Henri Delaunay Trophy. In the quarter-final against Italy, it was due to his presence that Italy was almost out of play. He threatened Buffon’s goal with a long shot again and again—in this respect, his attack was better than Wood’s, so much so that Spain’s manager, Aragonés thought about whether it was better to place Fàbregas or Xavi next to Senna. Whereas Xabi Alonso, who had excelled in the English Premier League, was glued to the bench because of Senna’s presence.

This was a guy who was good enough to replace Wood on most games. But… the problem was still very big.

In terms of the player’s personal will, Senna was rather vague and did not say he wanted to leave or mention his loyalty. But it was his ambiguous attitude that made it difficult for Nottingham Forest—because they did not know how much effort should be put into this player and whether it would be worth it after putting in the effort. If he continued to stay in Villarreal, he had little hope of winning any honor and it was believed that Senna was well aware of this point. But Villarreal had given him everything he had now. It was not something that he could quickly make up his mind to throw everything away and transfer.

The biggest obstacle came from the Villarreal club. The Yellow Submarine made it clear that Senna was not for sale when Twain first asked for the price, asking Nottingham Forest not to get any ideas on this captain.

This tough attitude was exactly the same as Twain’s rejection of Real Madrid’s pursuit of Ribéry. After he had the same pleasure of doing this to the others, Twain now experienced the taste of being rejected by the others… It was really the reversal of fortunes.

In short, as long as the transfer window did not end, Twain would still have all sorts of troubles like these. And now he had to pack up these troubles and take them with him.

It was already time to go to China and Asia to make money.