Godfather Of Champions

As like what Twain told Dunn, during the training the next day, he did find Wood and ask what happened at the party.

“It went well,” Wood told Twain succinctly. “I talked to him for a while and introduced him to his teammates. Once he drank, it was as if he became a different man, and everyone liked him.”

Twain acted surprised. “So he’s different when drunk?”

Wood nodded. “He even sang for us.”

“How was his singing?” This was the question Twain was most concerned about

“Terrible.” Wood shattered Twain’s little fantasy with a straight face, “But everyone said it was nice.”

That was just to prevent hurting Matías’s feelings…

In fact, when Fernández was on the stage humming into a microphone for a while, no one knew he was singing. He sang in a foreign language. His voice was too soft for the melody, so they did not know whether it was accurate sounding. In short, after the self-satisfied singing finished, a group of people below the stage roared and applauded energetically.

After listening to Wood’s account of the singing in detail, Twain quickly dismissed the idea of letting Fernández sing in the locker room to help liven things up—it would be okay for him to go to the opponent’s locker room to sing and harass them. But it was likely that Fernández would rather be killed than to do that in his sober state.

Then Twain stood on the side and put his ears up to listen to the players’ excited chatter after the training to hear what they were discussing.

He found that Fernández, though still unable to communicate due to the language barrier, was unlike before when he would hide far away as soon as everyone started discussing something. He joined in and had an enthusiastic look. He could not understand, but if everyone laughed, he would laugh too.

It was a good sign! Twain could finally put his mind at ease.

He slowly moved back to the coaches’ side and said to Dunn with a laugh, “You see, Dunn. Being a manager is sometimes like a kindergarten teacher. I have to take care of everything.”

“It was the first time I had seen a kindergarten teacher climbing a tree to take a peek.”

“Ha! Anyway, the mission is accomplished. The next step is how to get him to integrate with our tactical system.” He patted Dunn on the shoulder and said, “It’s your favorite coach’s job.”

Tactically speaking alone, there was nothing to worry about. Matías Fernández was a player who could play in the wings, the middle, and on the left flank. Twain needed a versatile player who could launch an attack on the sideline alone and complete an assist after dribbling the ball to break through. He would also be able to lean toward the middle, send a straight pass, or do a long shot straight away while ceding the left flank for the left-back, Gareth Bale, to plug in to assist.

There were just some areas that needed to be finetuned. For example, Fernández could not keep the ball for too long, otherwise, he would be knocked out of bounds in the Premier League games. Also, he would slow down the Forest team’s offensive momentum. The Nottingham Forest’s pace in the competition had always been known as “fast.”

Therefore, to fit into the team, Fernández must change his habit of overly sticking with the ball and learn to play more directly. That way, it would not slow down the team’s offense, and would also reduce his chances of injury at the same time. But a matter like changing a professional player’s style of play may not be accepted by the player.

If he could not accept it, then let him have a taste the cruelty of the Premier League!

That was what Twain intended. Once Fernández’s play improved, he was bound to receive more attention from his opponents. If he did not change the way he played, he would face being frequently on the injury list.

Having settled Fernández’s case, Twain planned to fully compete in both the league tournament and the UEFA Champions League. Coming up next was the sixth round of the league tournament at home against Tottenham Hotspur and then with Atlético Madrid in the second round of the Champions League group stage next week. Neither opponents of these matches were weak, and Twain had to be careful.

It was not hard to play against Tottenham Hotspur and defeat the old Redknapp’s team based on their home advantage. To play against Atlético Madrid in the away game was a trip full of unknown risks.

Twain served up a strong attacking lineup in the match against Tottenham Hotspur, intending to settle the fight in the first half and then preserve their strength to deal with Atlético Madrid.

What he did not expect was Gareth Bale’s injury, the cause of which was somewhat silly.

Nine minutes into the game, after he took the ball on the left flank, none of the Tottenham Hotspur’s players managed to rush up and pounce on the defense. So, he intended to dribble the ball forward while playing with some footwork skills at the same time. When he faced the first Tottenham Hotspur defender, he immediately slowed down and decided to play one of Roberto Carlos’s previously favorite move, which was to use his heel to knock the ball behind him, quickly stop, and then sharply change direction to bypass the other player.

He knocked the ball beautifully and smoothly fooled Tottenham Hotspur’s Dos Santos. But he suddenly lost his center of gravity and fell to the ground as he made the quick stop to change direction.

Dos Santos looked stunned and did not know what had happened. He first raised his hands to indicate that he did not foul. Not to mention that there was no foul; he did not even have any physical contact. He did not want to receive a yellow card without reason.

Gareth Bale was in pain as he held his knee and rolled on the ground. He then put down one hand to summon the referee and a stretcher.

Fleming followed two staff carrying the stretcher onto the field. The referee and the Forest players had surrounded Bale.

“Was there any physical contact?”

“What did that Mexican kid do to you?”

“What the hell is going on? Aren’t you in good health?” His surrounding teammates all talked at once. But none of them could help.

Fleming yelled as he squeezed in. He just took a glance and knew that things were not good. He hurriedly dispersed the crowd, signaled for the stretcher to come up and carry Bale out.

At the same time, he got up and motioned to Twain on the other side of the field for a substitution.

“Goddammit…” Twain swore. He also did not expect a simple bypass move could lead to such an outcome.

But Bale, oh Bale, why were you showing off for nothing? A simple misdirection would do. Why did you have to try Roberto Carlos’ move…

He called up Leighton Baines, who was sitting on the bench with a surly expression. He had no intention of letting Baines play in this game. He wanted him to start against Atlético Madrid and secure the defense.

In the end, Bale left the game under the circumstances of injuring himself without any physical contact.

The Forest team finally relied on a header shot from ?igi? in the first half and a counterattack that Agbonlahor launched at the start of the second half, as well as a long shot from outside the penalty area by Ibi?evi? to beat Tottenham Hotspur by 3:1.

Ibi?evi? scored his fourth goal of the season, a step closer to the twentieth goal target. Although he did not forget to give a slap to a particular person the fourth time, Twain was not happy at all.

The day after the game, Twain received the latest injury report on Bale from Fleming. He would be absent for at least seven months due to a torn cruciate ligament in his right knee.

It took a while for Twain to react.

At this time, he did not know who he should blame. Bale’s injury was mainly due to himself. He did not check out if anything was wrong with his right knee at the start of each season. Every time, Fleming said that Bale’s body was solid and that he could not see the skinny young monkey of before.

And the result…

A dereliction of duty of the team doctor? It was impossible. It was just God playing with him.

“Okay…” Twain muttered, “Fortunately I did not loan Mattock out before the season…”

He did not know now whether it was wrong to sound pleased at this time.

If the Forest team did not sign on new players in the winter transfer window, then Joe Mattock and Leighton Baines would support the Forest team’s left flank defense for a whole season.

Twain had to think it over carefully concerning the matter of signing on new players. If the Forest team reached the Champions League knockout stages in the second half of the season—almost a certainty for Twain—then adding a left-back seemed like a must. But then, when Bale recovered from his injury and returned next season, there would be four men in the same position competing for a starting position. It would be too intense and result in a waste of personnel. He could not always let Mattock play in the reserves. While the young players were relying on the increase of competition experience to enhance their abilities, they would kick up a fuss if he did not always let them play in the First Team games.

If a new full-back was not brought in, Twain was not confident about whether he could rely solely on Leighton Baines and Joe Mattock to sustain the season. Furthermore, there was a worse possibility waiting for him ahead—what if Joe Mattock or Leighton Baines or even both of them were to be hurt?

This was a real headache!

If someone could be said to be pleased that he had benefited from Gareth Bale’s injury, then Joe Mattock would be the only candidate. He did not show such joy and also spoke in an interview about his frustration and regret, over Bale’s injury.

But objectively, Bale’s injury did give him a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—if Bale had not been injured, the Forest team’s left-back position would be rotated between him and Baines. Only in an inconsequential game like the EFL Cup would he have a chance to make the starting lineup for the team.

Now he had a chance to prove in a higher level competition that the potential level, which Sports Interactive had set at 9 in the Football Manager game, was not because of the partnership Nottingham Forest club had with Sports Interactive.

Twain also looked for Mattock immediately after and talked to him about how he would follow the team to play in the league tournament and the Champions League. In fact, Twain had listed him in both competitions, but he had little chance of playing. Gareth Bale and Leighton Baines were in stable form and rarely injured.

Twain mainly told him that he would probably opt not to bring in any players during the winter transfer window, so he needed him to play with Baines on the left flank for a season. He had high hopes, whether it was the league tournament or the Champions League. Twain also hoped that he could withstand the pressure and not disappoint him. After all, he was optimistic about his potential at the time in order to purchase him. He needed Mattock to prove to him that his decision was not wrong.

Mattock’s answer was, “Don’t worry, boss. I’m not an immature child anymore.” He was right. He was already twenty years old and got his driver’s license.

※※※

With a knee injury that would take at least seven months, it was the most severe injury that Gareth Bale had suffered since playing. What made it more painful for him was that a violent collision did not cause it, but that his knee was unable to withstand the pressure when he did the action. This gave him a sense of self-doubt—was his right knee so fragile that it was not suited to playing an intense sport like football?

Twain understood Bale’s mood and was worried about it. However, he did not have time to deal with it himself. After the game with Tottenham Hotspur, he would lead the team to hurry to Madrid, Spain, for the Champions League group stage match against Atlético Madrid.

Where would he have the time to rush to the hospital to see the little monkey lying in his hospital bed, confused about his future?

But he thought of a man who might be able to help Bale get back on his feet.

Nottingham Forest’s First Team squad had a total of twenty-six players, but only twenty-five players were allowed to register in the Champions League each season. This season, Twain did not register for van Nistelrooy, which the Dutchman himself suggested it. He reasoned that he was too old and frequently injured. He could not guarantee his attendance. Rather than taking a spot, it was better to give it up to the other younger teammates. He was going to retire after the season and did not care if he could still play in the Champions League. But the others must be very keen on this Champions League spot.

Twain tried to urge him to no avail, so he fulfilled van Nistelrooy’s wish. He removed him from the name list and filled in Joe Mattock’s name. Now it looked like van Nistelrooy gave Twain a lifeline. If this interlude had not happened, he would have had to use Baines alone to finish all five of the remaining group stage games. He must not be injured nor received a card. Even if his form and fitness were poor, he would still have to put a bold face on to play.

Now van Nistelrooy could help him again.

Before leaving Nottingham, he found the Dutch striker after training. He hoped he would go to the hospital to visit Bale, and then use his experience to inspire and comfort the little monkey so that he could pull himself together early.

Van Nistelrooy understood what Twain meant. He laughed and said, “I understand, boss. It’s just like what Ferguson said to me at that time.”

When van Nistelrooy planned to join Manchester United in 1999, he suffered a serious knee injury and missed out on Manchester United, which almost ended his career. It was Ferguson who flew to the United States to see him that time and tell him that the Manchester United captain, Roy Keane, had suffered the same serious injury in his career, and how he eventually overcame the injury to return to the pitch to become Manchester United’s flag bearer.

It was the speech and Keane’s example that gave van Nistelrooy the confidence to battle the injury, and he eventually managed to overcome the knee injury to return to the pitch, where he joined Manchester United as he wished.

At the time, he was also pursued by Real Madrid in addition to Manchester United. It was Ferguson’s talk that finally made van Nistelrooy decided to join Manchester United. It made him realize that the Manchester United club was more humane, and Ferguson was clearly a worthy manager whom he could bank his future. He had a unique charming personality, which attracted him. He had no regrets playing and conquering for such a manager. Therefore, he turned down Real Madrid and joined Manchester United.

Who would have thought that six years later, the mentor and student whose relationship was as close as that of a father and son, would fall out with each other and for Tony Twain to pick up a bargain?

It was indeed hard to predict things in the world. Fate made a fool of everyone…

Now Twain hoped that van Nistelrooy could play the role of Ferguson. He was not worried that it would cause van Nistelrooy to think of his feud with Ferguson and caused an unpleasantness. Because of his understanding of van Nistelrooy, he was not the kind of person who hated everything and held onto hatred for the rest of his life.

It was best for van Nistelrooy to take over the matter. First of all, he was the oldest player on the team at the moment. Everyone respected him, and his words carried a lot of weight; Secondly, he had personally experienced it. Thirdly, Bale and van Nistelrooy had an excellent personal relationship, unlike Eastwood and George Wood who were so cold with each other that they had nothing to discuss.

Twain was relieved when he saw that van Nistelrooy had promised to help Bale rebuild his confidence. He led his team to fly to Madrid, Spain with a peace of mind.

One other effect of Bale’s injury was the lack of attacking ability in the left-wing. When Bale was previously still there, the assists on the left-wing were pretty sharp. Now it was up to the left midfielders to do the job, and it was bound to be affected.

Matías Fernández must also be required to step up and quickly integrate with the team’s tactical system. Twain had no time to wait. Fernández, who was more familiar with the current La Liga and its clubs than anyone else in the team, would be tasked with the heavy responsibility and be in the starting lineup. His play largely determined whether Nottingham Forest could get the results they wanted in the Estadio Vicente Calderón.

Fernández might feel the pressure, but his pressure was definitely not larger than Tony Twain’s, who decided to let him start…