Godfather Of Champions

“Let’s take a look back at all the games that the French team had played since the first game in the group stage.”

Twain’s room was a standard room which was fully packed at the moment. All the members of the coaching unit were here, looking at the laptop screen and listening to Twain explain.

Playing on the laptop was a collection of the best French team’s matches that had been edited by Twain.

“In the first game, France defeated Croatia by 3:1 and won it easily. Their goal concede was even considered an ‘accident’ by the French media after the game.” Twain leaned back in his chair as he spoke to his colleagues. At this point, he gave a dismissive snort through his nose.

“They thought it was a surprise for Croatia to score a goal. In the end, not only did Croatia advance out of the group stage but also made it into the top eight.”

Twain clicked on the mouse and moved to the next segment.

“For the second game, their opponent was Poland, which they won 2:0. It was also a very easy game for them. Although they only scored two goals, the French team dominated the entire game. They played against Russia in the third game. The French team had already won two games and advanced from the group ahead of schedule. So, they arranged for the substitutes to play in this game. Despite this, they still beat Russia 1:0. The match pleased the French people after the game.”

“They had three victories for all three games in the group stage with only one goal concede. They did have a reason to be happy…” Walker picked up.

“They also played beautifully. The media say that the current French team plays football with full artistic flair, which is delightful both physically and mentally for people.” The oldest in age out of all the coaches, Tony Carr also expressed his opinion.

Twain smiled without saying a word and continued to let everyone watch.

“In the quarterfinals, their opponents are the Netherlands team. The Netherlands team did not do well in the group stage and finished second in the group. But I’m not surprised by it because the overall level of Dutch football for the past two years has been declining. Their talent feels a little lacking, and it will not be a surprise for them to lose to France. All right…” Twain turned off the video and spun around to look at everyone.

“Now the French people believe themselves to be infallible.” He said with a smile, “It’s a good sign, and I hope they’re going to be even more conceited. Isn’t there a regular press conference this afternoon?”

Everyone knew what he was going to do, and there was a burst of laughter in the room.

※※※

After the meeting with the coaches ended, Twain knocked on the door of Wood’s room. When he went in, he found two people in the room. George Wood was having a chat with Aaron Mitchell.

Seeing Twain walk in, Mitchell immediately realized who the boss was looking for, and got up hurriedly. He said, “I’ll go out for a spin.” Then he said to Twain, “Boss.”

Twain nodded.

Mitchell went out and closed the door, leaving the room with the two men, Twain and Wood.

“What? Aren’t you going to invite me to sit down?” Twain joked with Wood.

Wood then got up and made a gesture as he said, “Please have a seat.”

Twain could understand Wood’s lukewarm attitude, as he did not tell him the news that he had decided to let Wood start in the next game.

Twain sat down and looked at Wood. He was about to open his mouth, when Wood learnt to speak first.

“My foot injury is fine. I feel like I have fully recovered.”

Twain chuckled. There must have been a lot of people who cared about Wood asking him the same question over the past two days. He must not know how many times he had given such an answer.

Seeing Wood like this, Twain wanted to tease him. He said, “Is it really fine?” He asked with a frown in disbelief.

“Do you want me to kick a few shots for you?” Wood got up.

Twain laughed and said, “No need. I’m afraid you’ll kick and damage the things here and we will have to provide compensation. Tell you what, George, I came to you regarding a matter… What do you think of the French team’s recent performance?”

Wood stared blankly for a moment. He felt that Twain’s thoughts tend to jump around too much. What did the recent performance of the French team had to do with him? Why did he want to ask him that?”

“Didn’t you pay attention to the performance of the French team?” Twain followed up to ask.

Wood shook his head and said, “I’ve heard that they haven’t lost yet till now. I don’t know anything else.”

“It’s not just that they haven’t lost a game yet. They have won all their games. They are the only team to have won all their games other than the host team, Spain.” Twain said, “Their performance in the first four games were described as perfect. They played flawlessly. With eight goals scored and one goal concede, Benzema is currently the best goalscorer in the tournament. Lloris is likely to compete for the best goalkeeper and the likelihood of Gourcuff becoming the best player is very high. The French people believe their national team will definitely win the title because they are the ‘generation of geniuses.’” Twain slowly introduced Wood to the characteristics of the French team.

“For instance, they are as popular as a beautiful flower.”

Wood did not respond to Twain’s evaluation.

If it happened to someone who was not familiar with Wood, that person would think that it was painful to communicate with someone like Wood. Because he was a man of few words and would not give enthusiastic responses. If one wanted the communication to continue, then he would have to try to find new topics, which could be tiresome and boring.

Twain knew Wood well, so he was not unhappy with it. He leaned forward and winked at Wood as he said, “But it’s only a flower in the greenhouse.”

Wood was sensitive enough to sense the overtones in Twain’s words. Because whenever the boss was deliberately mystifying, he would find something for him to do.

“For the game in three days’ time, I hope you can turn into a strong gale and blow down to the greenhouse shed that protected them.” Twain looked at Wood with a serious expression.

Wood reacted after being taken aback for a moment. He said, “For the game against France … I’m in the starting lineup?”

Twain nodded his head.

Wood did not cheer loudly, nor did he jump up from his seat. He just raised his fist.

The action had already revealed his mood at the moment.

Twain stood up and was ready to leave. “Study the videos of the French team’s games well. I’ll have Des send them to you. You have an important task.”

Wood was not afraid. He was more worried about not getting a mission.

※※※

While Mitchell wandered around outside and returned to the room after, he found Wood looking at something on his laptop and was in deep concentration, so he quietly crept over. He discovered it turned out to be a video of the French teams game.

“Why are you watching this, George?” He thought it was a little strange.

“To understand my opponent so as to beat them better.” Wood replied without turning his head.

An idea suddenly lit up in Mitchell’s mind and he said, “Can it be that… you’re going to be in the starting lineup for the game against France?”

“Yeah.” Wood nodded.

“YES!” Mitchell was more excited than Wood himself. He jumped on the bed and almost knocked his head. “Haha! I’m so relieved by this! To tell you the truth, George, I don’t like the French team. Do you see how they’re hyping them up out there now? It’s as if the UEFA European Championship title is already theirs. What’s up with the terms ‘generation of geniuses’, ‘the most beautiful football’, ‘the most compelling team in this tournament’… I’m going to throw up just listening to that!”

As an Englishman, it was normal to look down on even the French people. Wood was not surprised by Mitchell’s behavior.

“It’s great that you’re playing. Teach the bunch of arrogant Frenchmen a good lesson!” Mitchell rolled around in bed and then sit up again, waving his fists next to Wood and shouting.

After being happy for Wood, Mitchell was also a little depressed. As the team’s main striker, he was in the starting lineup for every game, but had only scored two goals. He had been called England’s best center forward for the next decade, but his performance was poor.

“It turned out that the boss was specially here to assign you a mission… So, what’s my mission?”

Wood added, “You are a striker and the striker’s mission is to score goals, isn’t it?”

“I think I’m too weak physically, George. . . Is there anything you can think of for me to strengthen?” Mitchell felt that the main factor that led him to score fewer goals than Rooney was his lack of strength and his inability to compete with the strong center backs in the penalty area. Many times, he had to come out in order to get the ball. But could a striker still score goals, far from the penalty area?

Wood finally took his eyes off the computer screen. He looked back at Mitchell, sitting on the bed behind him. “Beef up by eating.” He said simply and turned back again.

Mitchell rolled his eyes and made an exasperated sound before lying back down.

“I’ll be out of shape if I get fat!”

If it had been a person with the gift of gab, he would definitely respond to him in this way, “You have an appearance of someone who’s addicted to drugs. How can you be out of shape?”

But George Wood ignored Mitchell’s complaints and focused on the video of the French team’s game. He quickly found his target, and several of the French midfielders were highly skilled individually. He was thinking that the boss would not ask him to mark a player. That would be too wasteful. If there was no surprises, it should be zonal marking instead.

Wood closed his eyes and imagined the game in his mind. He had not played an entire game in a long time, and the game against France was going to be tough. He also had to pray that his right big toe would not be hurt during the game. In fact, he had just lied to the boss. His right big toe was still slightly sore and could not be considered as completely healed. But in order to make the boss feel assured enough to let him play, he must hide this tiny injury.

※※※

Twain did not know what was on Wood’s mind. George Wood’s performance was normal during the afternoon training. He was comfortable whether when he was running or in contact with the ball. It gave the team a lot of confidence for the game against France.

Although the reporters at the scene only had 15 minutes of photo shoot, they saw a vigorous and healthy George Wood.

At a routine post-training press conference, Twain did not let George Wood attend it with him. He called Gerrard instead.

At the press conference, in the face of a large number of reporters throwing out the question of “whether George Wood will be able to play against France”, Twain did not give any affirmative answer. He continued to obfuscate, “I cannot confirm on the matter. We’re all working hard in that direction. We all want to see the best result.” He spoke nonsense for a long time which was equal to not giving away any detail at all.

The French reporters did not seem to care much about whether George Wood would be playing or not. They just wanted Twain to talk about the French team’s performance in recent games. Twain was aware of what they were playing at. These vain Frenchmen!

But it was exactly what he wanted to happen.

“The French team played very well. It is natural for them to be in the top eight. Their football impresses me… At the same time, they also have a lot of talented players, which I’m really envious of…” Twain’s reaction greatly surprised many English reporters. He was so stingy with words for his own country’s reporters and even had an awful attitude toward them. They did not expect him to answer the questions from the French reporters frankly with assurance. Furthermore, the words which he had spoken were all praises for the French team. Did he not feel that his words were cringeworthy? What about his remark that he was “envious of the French team for having a lot of talent?” Did he mean that the England team’s players were not good enough? Was he British or French?

“… I think it’s absolutely right of the media to say that the French team is the favorite to win the title before the game. I have to deal with the French team seriously. They are very strong… we might lose if we’re not careful. I’m not speaking highly of anyone. I’m telling the truth. The football that the French team plays is very modern and advanced. They can secure both the championship and win over the audience. To be honest, this has always been my goal…”

Twain spoke these words so seriously that it made the French secretly rejoice and the English people unhappy. Even Gerrard was taken aback. Although he had not played for Twain at the club level, he had always felt that the boss was a fearless person through the two years of interaction in the national team. No matter how strong the opponent was, he dared to go head to head with the opponent. For instance, as with the Germany team before, he did not show any fear, and it was why the team could finally beat their foe, Germany. Because the players saw the courage to beat the strong enemy from the manager.

But what happened to the boss today?

It was not the boss’s style, was it? What was he thinking? Gerrard made up his mind to definitely ask the boss after the press conference. He was eager to find out what the boss was thinking.

Twain’s words even gave the French reporters the urge to applaud – it’s so good! Fantastic!

The French people could not hide the joy on their faces, and the British reporters did not want to hide their displeasure. Following which, the press conference immediately became the French reporters’ domain. They kept raising their hands to ask questions and wanted to hear some more good things about the French team. While the British reporters were collectively quiet, using a silent treatment as a way to protest against Twain’s “working for someone’s benefit at the expense of his own people” behavior.

Twain also knew when to quit while he was ahead. The other party would become inured if he said too many good things, so he became diffident again in the next moment.

After the press conference, the French reporters left the England team’s training camp with satisfied smiles, while the British reporters gritted their teeth and cursed Tony Twain as well as the French.

Gerrard frowned and appeared preoccupied. He decided to ask for an explanation.

“Boss.”

Twain looked back at Gerrard behind him and he was not surprised. “Yes?”

“I don’t quite understand why you said those things at the press conference… I don’t think the French team is as strong as you said.”

Twain frowned and said, “Don’t underestimate the opponent, Steven.”

Gerrard thought at first that the boss was joking, but when he looked at Twain’s serious expression, he felt he had thought wrong.

“It’s the quarterfinal. Once we win, we can reach the semifinals. It is a step away from the final. We can’t take our opponent lightly. Any opponent has to be taken seriously and I don’t want a repeat of the game against Wales to happen again.” Twain once again played the “Wales” card and Gerrard had nothing to say.

Losing to the Wales team seemed to have become England’s nightmare. As long as the team appeared to act proud and underestimate the opponent, Twain would mention that game again. Not only that, he also specially made a video clip of the game and showed it to the players. It was to remind them not to underestimate their opponents.

But the problem was the French team was not Wales. The England players would not take the French team lightly in any case …

“Moreover, the French team is really strong. I did not tell any lies, Steven.” Twain continued to add. His earnest look and heartfelt words look left Gerrard without a doubt. “Their midfield is very strong and does not just rely on one person. Such an opponent is our biggest headache. We can’t stop their offensive by freezing one player alone. And… with George’s injury…”

Twain wished to speak but stopped on second thoughts.

Gerrard increasingly felt that the boss was not putting smokescreens. It was indeed worrying that they did not know yet whether Wood would be able to play when they were up against a strong opponent. After playing a few games, he also knew that his 36-year-old stamina could not keep up until the final.

Although what the boss said was very reasonable, Gerrard’s heart still slightly unconvinced. We have beaten the mighty Germany team and ended our 48 years of ill-fated inability to conquer the Swedish team. Don’t tell me that we don’t even have the strength to stake all against France? That the boss would look down on us!

Although he’s also considering the team, I feel upset by it. I admit that the French team has been in the limelight recently and even share in same odds of being in the top spot to win the title as Spain. But did we come to Spain just to praise the strength of the opponent?

Gerrard stopped asking and followed behind Twain in silence. He only raised his clenched fists.

Twain, who was walking in front of him, did not look back, but the corner of his lips curled up.