Godfather Of Champions

For a mid to lower level team or a team that simply aimed to make it to the European arena next season, the transfer budget of twenty-nine million euros was not considered low. But for a team that aspired to defend multiple titles and aimed to make a historic breakthrough in the English FA Cup, twenty-nine million might just be enough to buy one player.

Twain must plan meticulously and calculate carefully. The day when he could sign a check as long as he liked it was destined to be a dream.

Perhaps this had to do with Twain being a Chinese man. He was not particularly extravagant when it came to the transfer fees. It was evidenced by the fact that the transfer budget given by the team last summer had not run out and the club made money from the sale of Anelka and Ashley Young.

As long as he carefully planned and determined his targets, with some good luck, it was not impossible to buy good and cheap players with twenty-nine million.

In fact, most positions in the Forest team had at least one dedicated substitute player. Only one position had always been one player supporting it. This position was not the defensive midfielder which people thought, but the defensive midfielder’s partner, the attacking midfielder.

Van der Vaart was the absolute playmaker of the team. He was better at organizing the offense than Ribéry, and he was also capable in long shots and positional play to score goals. But van der Vaart was not an iron man like George Wood after all. Although he did not suffer any major injuries after he transferred to Nottingham Forest, he still occasionally had minor injuries, which was a worry. Generally, if he could not play, Twain would let Ribéry guest played as the attacking midfielder. But this was not a long-term solution. In the previous world that Twain knew, van der Vaart frequently had injuries. It could be said that Twain was lucky that he did not have any major injuries here. The other reason as that George Wood helped share some of the pressure with him.

In any case, a dedicated midfielder in the middle was needed to rotate with van der Vaart. Even without injury, van der Vaart’s fitness did not guarantee that he would be able to play a full season.

After George Wood’s rotation partner was settled, Twain started to fret about van der Vaart’s replacement.

There was no shortage of good and well-known attacking midfielders in the world, such as Brazil’s Kaka, who was currently the world’s number one attacking midfielder, and Ronaldinho, who was eliminated by Barcelona. Kaka was the type of player Twain longed for. However, Nottingham Forest was not likely to get the Brazilian crown jewel, either in terms of the team’s appeal or financial ability. As for Ronaldinho… Twain did not like this kind of disorganized and undisciplined player. He did not want him even if he had the talent.

Basically, Twain could set his target on those players who were marginally famous, but not a world-class star player yet with a relatively simple life off-field and would not require high salaries… And there was another important point in that if the player’s owner did not want this guy, it was even better.

But where could he find such a good deal?

During the UEFA European Championship, Twain became interested in the Croatian midfielder, Luka Modrić. But Dinamo Zagreb Lions demanded an exorbitant price and wanted at least twenty million euros to let him go. While Modrić himself was keen to join the UEFA Champions League winner, Nottingham Forest, Twain was not willing to come up with two-thirds of his transfer budget to rotate the attacking midfielder position. The Forest Team could only abandon plans to bring in Modrić and find a new target.

Modrić himself eventually achieved his goal of landing in the top league in Europe—he joined Tottenham Hotspur for a transfer fee of up to 16.6 million pounds, or 20.88 million euros.

The real billionaires in the Premier League this summer were not Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool or Chelsea, but the mid-stream team, Tottenham Hotspur.

While he could only envy the other people for having the money to spend, Twain continued to search for the targets he admired in the transfer market.

Deco, who had the strength and reputation, was cheap due to Barcelona’s initiative to clean house. But he did not want to come to the Forest team. He chose Chelsea, coached by his national team manager. As a result of this relationship, Chelsea only spent eight million pounds.

Nasri was also a young attacking midfielder whom Twain was interested in. He was known in the French media as “the second Zidane.” But his price was not cheap, and Nasri himself wanted to join Arsenal, coached by the French professor, Arsène Wenger. In the end, Arsenal paid twelve million pounds to bring him to the Emirates Stadium.

Dos Santos was also good, showing enough ability in the Barcelona First Team but he lacked the opportunity and experience. Nottingham Forest began an intense contest against Tottenham Hotspur for him. Eventually, dos Santos’s personal will played a key role. He believed that life at Nottingham Forest would be no different from life at Barcelona, while Tottenham Hotspur promised him the main position. In this way, Tottenham Hotspur bought dos Santos, known as the “Mexican Ronaldinho” for seven million pounds.

Twain was left angry with the series of setbacks suffered in the transfer market. Time was running out every day. As August was drawing closer and closer, the new season was about to begin, and the team had not made any progress in the transfer market. Some media had already taunted that even though Nottingham Forest had won the UEFA Champions League and Premier League titles, its appeal had declined instead. Such a comical thing could only happen with Tony Twain’s team.

Therefore, he prayed to God every day before going to bed at night, hoping to wake up the next day to find an attacking midfielder in an intoxicated state sleeping next to him.

Although such a nonsensical event was unlikely to happen, Twain finally found a candidate for the attacking midfielder position, who met the current constraints and had the ability and potential recognized by Twain.

※※※

In the 04-05 season, a young talent with dual German and Turkish citizenship made his mark in the Bundesliga. It might be an exaggeration to use a bolt from the blue, but he was indeed a talented teenager from Turkish football.

He made his debut in Dortmund’s game against VfL Wolfsburg at the time and played the entire time. This Turkish teenager who was not even seventeen at that time, became the youngest player to make an appearance in Bundesliga history. Following which, it did not take him long to become the youngest goalscorer in Bundesliga history and also became one of the world’s top hundred hopeful stars.

But his fame at a young age left him prematurely burdened. On top of that, Dortmund was in deep financial trouble and there were chaos within the team. Consequently, he also sunk into obscurity.

Just last season, Dortmund, which had too many midfielders, loaned him out to the Eredivisie strong team, Feyenoord in the hope that he would get plenty of practice. Coincidentally, Feyenoord’s manager was his mentor, van Marwijk at Dortmund in the first place.

Initially, he could have received a very good training in the Netherlands in this way, which was the only way for a rising midfield star. Van Marwijk was very bullish on the future of the disciple whom he was proud of originally.

His debut in the Netherlands was a great success. He scored a goal in his first game and had an assist.

But bad luck soon descended. In the third game which he played for Feyenoord; he was viciously attacked by his opponent. He fell to the ground and could not get up. He was taken away by an ambulance from the stadium at that time. His face was covered with tears when he left the field, because only he knew how serious the injury was. At the time, he felt he had completely lost the use of his left leg and had no sensation in it at all.

The results from the hospital check-up made everyone gasped.

His left knee cartilage was crushed and suffered a fracture. His meniscus was torn, and cruciate ligament was lacerated.

Any one of those injuries alone was a major enemy of a footballer’s career. And now what did it mean to have all three concentrated on the player’s left knee?

Feyenoord later announced that he would miss all the remaining games of the season, and the chief surgeon for the operation said in an interview after the surgery that he was not sure if this Turkish talent would be able to return to the field because…even normal walking might be affected.

At the time, in addition to condemning the culprits, the Dutch, Turkish and German media, bemoaned that “the premature fall of a very talented player!”

Did this statement sound sensational? But it was a true reflection of his situation.

Fortunately, this strong Turkish youngster did not give up his football dream and actively cooperated with the rehabilitation to successfully returned to the field at the end of the season. At the time, the Dutch media exclaimed that he had created a sports medicine miracle.

But when he returned to the field, his performance could not be compared to before his injury. The shadow of the serious injury lingered in his heart and he simply dared not do some movements. He appeared to be afraid of the slightest thing on the field. The media’s assessment of him was that it was “as if he had lost his original spirit overnight.”

It was a fitting metaphor. That player who had set a number of records, led Turkey to win the 2005 UEFA European Under-17 Championship title and was the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Turkey national team, had now become completely ordinary.

This was a fact that made Dortmund and Turkey extremely sad, but they had to accept the reality. Having been badly wounded, he was far from how he was in many ways.

Van Marwijk was also sorry. He had initially hoped to develop him into a world-famous star player, and now it was all over.

At the end of the season, he returned to Dortmund. If he had not been injured, his future would have been bright. He was only nineteen years old and had plenty of time to create a future that belonged to him. But now, Dortmund did not have a place for him. He had lost his talent and physique. He did not know where his future laid.

This once-talented teenager’s family was poor. His father was a Turkish laborer in Germany and his mother was a housewife. The family of three lived in a small village in Dortmund with more than thirty relatives. If he had not been injured and become the core of Dortmund’s squad as he wished, then the family’s financial difficulties were nothing. He could get a lucrative contract, buy a house in Dortmund, have a car and live like a rich man.

But now, it was all over.

Dortmund intended to offer him a contract, but it was a far cry from the original one they had promised. After all, the treatment for a substitute player could not be the same as it was for the core of the main force and the hopeful star player.

Just as he was about to bow to his fate and sign this contract with Dortmund, someone knocked on his house door.

“We want Nuri Şahin. Let’s give a price.” The man from Nottingham Forest said to Dortmund.

※※※

“You must be crazy, Tony. This Turkish boy is not worth buying at all. You can’t just give vent like that just because you are unable to buy your targets in the transfer market, can you?” Kerslake was shocked to learn that Twain was going to bring in the Turkish kid, who had just been forced to retire. His mouth was opened so wide that a hard-boiled egg could be stuffed directly into it.

“You’re like a woman who has lost her head from anger!”

“It hurts me so much that you would say that, David.” Twain covered his heart and explained, “I know he was badly hurt. But I think the fact that he’s not doing as well as he used to be, is not due to his body, but because of his psychological state. Unfortunately, neither Feyenoord nor Dortmund care about this. They habitually believe that the biggest cause of this situation and the most fundamental reason is the regression of his physical function.”

“Psychological state?”

“In reality, his mental qualities are still very good. Otherwise he would have to announce his retirement right after the injury. Because that kind of serious injury was not something a nineteen-year-old kid can take on alone. It is only at such times that he needs others’ guidance more. By saying so, it may not be fair to Şahin. But I do think his injury is a good opportunity for us. When Arsenal bought Rosický two years ago, they planned to bid three million euros to take Şahin away. But Dortmund was adamant not to let go. They wanted to develop Şahin as the new core of Westfalenstadion. If he had not been injured, we would not even have a chance to sit down with Dortmund and talk about the price. Now the other side has happily agree to our offer…”

“Of course, they can’t wait to get rid of a burden.”

“Actually, this matter with Şahin reminds me of another thing … I think our club should hire a few psychologists to come on board.”

“Huh?” Kerslake seemed like he was listening to a fantasy story.

“Frequent injuries and sitting on the bench long-term can lead to depression, ups and downs in the form, the strikers missing goals, the goalkeepers dropping goals in succession, the minutiae in life affecting the performance on the field … None of these can be solved by training. Our players need psychologists to comfort them, guide them and keep them happy and healthy mentally.” Twain stroked his chin and nodded, “I think it’s necessary and pressing. I’m going to talk to Mr. Chairman now.”

With that, he got up.

“Hey, Tony. About that Turkish kid…” Kerslake stopped him.

“Any other issues? Dortmund has agreed to our two million euro offer. All that’s left is to sign the individual contract with him.” Twain looked back at his assistant manager and said, “Ah, I forgot to say just now another reason why his injury was good for us. We can take the opportunity to lower his package… Of course, it will be more than what he would get at Dortmund, but it can only be ranked in the lower tier within the team. He himself can’t get a better deal than with us and now he’s been given a chance to play for the European champion. He should thank us. Buying someone like that is better than buying someone like Ronaldinho to balance our weekly salary budget.”

Having said that, Twain went out to talk to Evan in detail about his suggestion to hire a psychologist.

Kerslake and Dunn were left in the office. Kerslake turned to look at Dunn and said, “Dunn, you’re neighbors with him. What do you think?”

“In terms of the players and team, this is the best solution.” Dunn replied expressionlessly.

※※※

Two days later, Nottingham Forest and Dortmund announced at the same time that the nineteen-year-old Turkish young player had moved from Westfalenstadion to the City Ground stadium for a fee of two million euros.

As soon as this news came out, the English media blew it up. The introduction of Şahin by the Forest team two years ago would have been widely praised, but now endless taunts and sneers were directed at Tony Twain.

Everyone knew what happened to this Turkish kid last season. To be honest, his once-bright future needed not be mentioned but now very few people in the world would believe that he could get back to his pre-injury level. Maybe the Turkish national coach Terim was one and Tony Twain was the second.

<Two million euros to buy a child who’s almost retired?>

<Tony Twain always amuses us>

<Only a fool believes that Şahin can recover>

“I don’t understand at all Tony Twain’s move in the transfer market … First, Tiago, the sub-par import whom Juventus doesn’t want, then Şahin, who broke his leg in the Netherlands. A Double Winner of the Champions League and Premier League acts as if it’s picking up the scraps…”

“I can personally guarantee that Nuri Şahin will be the most disastrous acquisition in Tony Twain’s tenure!”

“Tony Twain had used his actions to tell us that this world is full of extraordinary things.”

For the English media, which liked to nitpick and make cutting remarks the most, it was delightful for them to be able to find an opportunity to mock Twain. Certainly, their suspicions about Şahin’s ability were not related to Twain. The sarcasm might have been motivated by a private grievance, but Şahin’s ability was indeed not recognized by these people at all.

“…He had suffered such a serious injury in the Eredivisie. Don’t tell me that the defenders in the English leagues would be nice gentlemen? I really don’t know what Tony Twain is thinking. Maybe his brain structure is different from us ordinary people?”

Words like these flew everywhere. Everyone criticized and questioned Twain’s transfer decision. Some people even questioned whether he received any kickbacks. Twain could not be bothered to quarrel with them, and he thought these flies actually gave him a big help.

When Şahin came to Nottingham, Twain welcomed the unhappy Turkish “former” genius with a pile of newspapers that admonished the two of them.

“Do you understand English?” Twain asked through the interpreter.

“Just a little…”Şahin spoke softly as he was first new to the environment and the confusion about the future made his mood very low.

Seeing him like this, Twain was more convinced that Şahin’s problem was psychological. He smiled and handed the newspapers to Şahin. Then he informed him through the interpreter, “All the newspapers are scolding me and saying that I spent two million dollars on someone who couldn’t play football at all. Ah, they also questioned your ability by the way.”

The interpreter stared at Twain, wondering why he made these remarks. Twain just glanced at him and let him translate as it was.

By this time, Şahin had already turned his attention to the brightly colored newspapers. His photographs appeared in the sports headlines. They were mostly photographs from during his injury in the Netherlands. Without knowing much English, he knew nothing good was written just by looking at these pictures. Consequently, he was even more depressed.

After hearing the translation, he looked up strangely at Twain.

This man laughed instead and completely ignored the media’s rebuke. “You may not understand now, but when you stay in this team a little longer and when your English level has improved, you’ll know—me.” He said, pointing to himself and then the newspapers. “My reputation here is not good. It’s better to use ‘infamous’ to describe. Now that I insist on bringing you to Nottingham Forest, this gives them a reason to attack me. But I don’t care. They can scold all they want. I’ll just do my bit. And I’m not like those idiots. I believe you have a bright future ahead of you!”

Since his injury, all Şahin had heard had been laments and everyone bemoaned the injustice of fate, which led to the death of a genius who could have become a star but was now a shooting star. He no longer wanted to listen to such morale-busting words. He did not expect that the manager of this team would say to him “I believe you have a bright future ahead of you!” when he got to Nottingham.

Looking up at this man’s smile, he suddenly felt that he might have been lucky to leave Dortmund.

“Now all of England is not optimistic about your new life. Do you want to give them a good show in the near future? Let them know how outrageously wrong they are?” Twain winked at Şahin. His hoarse voice seemed to contain a magical power, and Şahin could not help but nod after listening.

Twain laughed and patted him hard on the back, “Then drum up your fighting spirit! Don’t look so sad. I promise you that when you give them a good slap, you’ll feel damn good. Haha!”

The next day, at a press conference, Şahin showed off his skills in front of hundreds of Forest fans and dozens of media reporters. Twain watched him perform with a smile on his face, just as he did before he was injured. He showed his creative flair and skill as a midfield playmaker in the seldom seen bright sunshine.

Then he raised the red Nottingham Forest jersey with his name and number on it along with Twain.

Number 16 was his number in the new team.

A whole new life began just like the new number.