Although he appeared to be confident in front of Xia Yang, Twain was not sure at all. Although Chen Jian had expressed his desire to play in the Forest team, that was four years ago after all. After four years, he had been doing well in RCD Espanyol. Why would he want to go back?
He called Chen Jian, but he could not tell what Chen Jian was thinking just by listening to his voice over the phone. He did not know what Chen Jian was thinking. What if he looked down on Nottingham Forest now? It was not impossible. After all, the current Forest team was a little too down.
Currently, the voices in England generally believed that Nottingham Forest's goal for this season should be to avoid relegation, and if they did not make any changes, they were afraid that even avoiding relegation would be a problem. The cloud of George Wood's possible retirement had been hanging over the team, and it made people panic.
Moreover, few of the players who had transferred to the Forest team in recent years had performed well, but many of the players who left had reappeared. Such a sharp contrast and contrast made others think that the current Forest team had become a "star black hole." Everyone was eager to escape this black hole. How could anyone be willing to do the opposite?
Moreover, there was the dishonest agent. Although he promised to give him a higher signing fee, he still had no intention of cooperating obediently. He was still thinking of his own wishful thinking.
These conditions were very disadvantageous …
As long as one was smart, the possibility of choosing the Forest team was not high. But he still wanted to come to Spain this time, intending to do his best again. In addition, he was also a world-famous manager. Maybe his influence could play a role?
Weren't there many players eager to play under Wenger? So, there were no players who wanted to play under me?
Twain thought so.
Then he received a call from Xia Yang.
"Congratulations, Mr. Twain." There was no reluctance in the voice on the other end of the phone, as if Xia Yang had agreed to this decision from the bottom of his heart. "I have discussed with Chen Jian, and we both think that joining Nottingham Forest is a good choice. Chen Jian has always wanted to play for the Forest team, and I respect his opinion. I will try to facilitate an agreement between the Forest team and RCD Espanyol. "
Regardless of whether the agent was sincere, Tang En could now heave a sigh of relief. The next step would be negotiations at the club level. After Allan Adams' dismissal, there were still other people around, and Evan Doughty would also step in if necessary. Now that he was begging her, she would naturally satisfy all his requests. Since that was the case, Twain would not hold back.
After Chen Jian's matter was settled, Tang En could finally relax and enjoy the Barcelona derby.
※ ※ ※
The day before the match, Chen Jian received a call from his agent, Mr. Xia, informing him that he had already come to an agreement with Tang En. The next step was to wait for the important derby match to end before negotiating with the Spaniard.
Chen Jian heaved a sigh of relief. He could finally put all his energy into this match.
"Hey, Chen. In this game, Barcelona's midfield will definitely keep a close eye on you. You are our core. If you are frozen, our offense and defense will have problems. What are you going to do then? " Gavrilović asked Chen Jian about the next day's match when he was chatting with him before the start of the tactical meeting.
As soon as they heard the Serbian center back ask such a question, the surrounding teammates also became interested. They gathered around, wanting to hear what Chen Jian had to say. This was actually a little game within their team. Chen Jian's mind was clear, and he seemed to have a natural insight into football. So, before the game, everyone liked to let him guess what he would do if a certain situation happened in the game. Then they would use it as a reference to the actual game situation or the manager's arrangements to see if he was correct.
Of course, there would also be some small bets between them, such as a little money or a meal. Most of the time, Chen Jian would win.
If not for this, how could he, a Chinese, become the main midfield core of a La Liga team? It was all because of his performance that he completely conquered his picky teammates and manager. This was a place where strength mattered. As long as you had strength, you could win respect. Chen Jian relied on his intelligence to win the trust of his teammates.
"If they keep a close eye on me, I will retreat." Chen Jian smiled. "The center midfielder will become the defensive midfielder. I don't think Barcelona's defensive midfielder will rush to the front of our penalty area to mark me, right? "
"They can change players to mark you, such as the striker or the attacking midfielder who harass you on the spot." The one who spoke was another teammate, the Israeli defender, Joffre Fogelman.
Chen Jian thought for a moment. "The possibility of this is very small. Barcelona's strikers are relatively lazy … But it's not completely impossible. If that's the case, I will quickly pass the ball to you. Be careful of Joffre, don't stop my return passes too much. "
He pointed to Fogelman, who was pointing at him.
The teammates around him let out a knowing laugh.
Chen Jian had a good temper and rarely got angry. He always greeted his teammates with a smile, so he was quite popular. No one liked a teammate who kept a straight face all day long. This Asian was very likable.
In the tactical meeting later, regarding the issue of Barcelona's tight defense against Chen Jian, manager Manzano did indeed arrange for Chen Jian to move back in this game from his previous position of center midfielder to defensive midfielder.
Hearing the manager's arrangement, many teammates lamented in their hearts: We lost money again!
Chen Jian smiled happily. But then he remembered that he would be leaving this team and these teammates in the winter, and his smile stiffened. To pursue his original dream, he would have to give up everything he had now. Was it worth it?
※ ※ ※
The Barcelona derby in a day's time was the highlight of the La Liga season. RCD Espanyol's results had been stable in the middle for the past three seasons, and they were no longer the weak team that barely managed to avoid relegation. This kind of RCD Espanyol could also cause enough trouble for Barcelona in the derby. Every year in the derby at Cornea El Prat Stadium (RCD Espanyol's new home ground), Barcelona did not have any advantages. In the three derbies in the past three seasons, Barcelona's results at this stadium were two draws and one loss.
But back at home, Barcelona's results were also good. They had two wins and one draw at Camp Nou and had not lost yet.
Today's game was held at Camp Nou.
Tang En was invited by Xia Yang to watch the game with him in the stands. Since Chen Jian had decided to transfer to Nottingham Forest, Xia Yang and Chen Jian would have the same interests, so it would not be awkward to sit together and watch the game.
In this game, Barcelona really implemented a very strict marking strategy against Chen Jian. Chen Jian wore RCD Espanyol's number 10 jersey, which was enough to show his role and status in the team. For the past few seasons, RCD Espanyol's midfield had been under Chen Jian's control. As a small team, there were not many strong players and not enough benches, so their tactics were inevitably monotonous. Chen Jian was the core of their tactics. Once he was marked, the team's performance would be greatly reduced.
After all, Chen Jian was not a world-class star player. He might not even reach the level of Europe's top players. Otherwise, RCD Espanyol would not be where they were now. But the derby was another matter. In such a game, the strength of both teams had to be put aside, and the results and process of the game had to be calculated separately. It could be said that no matter how many superstars Barcelona had, how strong their original strength was, how many championships they had won, how good their recent results were, before this game, both sides were pulled to the same level.
Whether or not they could win this game often depended not on strength, but on fighting spirit and spirit.
The game entered a high-speed track from the beginning. The players on both sides fought fiercely, and the smell of gunpowder was very strong.
It was also the first time that Tang En saw such a fiery Chen Jian.
Five minutes into the game, he took the ball in the midfield. After Barcelona's defensive midfielder, Busquets, came up and knocked him down, he found a chance to retaliate a minute later. At that time, Busquets took the ball and was about to break through, but Chen Jian stretched out his leg from behind and hooked his toes. He lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Busquets got up and wanted to find trouble with Chen Jian. Chen Jian also did not show weakness and went up to him. The two people were different in height. Chen Jian was shorter than Busquets, but his expression was fierce and did not lose to the tall Busquets at all.
Tang En laughed in the stands. "Oh my, there's a bit of George in him … No wonder the media said he was a smaller George Wood …"
"Chen Jian is usually not like this." Xia Yang did not seem to like such a fierce Chen Jian. "His image is very healthy and sunny, which is very popular with sponsors."
No wonder. Tang En smiled and did not say anything else. He continued to watch the game.
In terms of strength, Barcelona was better, but they were put in a difficult position by RCD Espanyol's rabid tactics. RCD Espanyol did not seem to care about their stamina in the second half at all. From the beginning of the first half, they pressed the ball all over the field and repeatedly launched attacks after intercepting the ball in the front field, causing Barcelona's rear defensive line to be tired of defending.
The tactics were very good. If RCD Espanyol had one or two strikers in the formation who could kill with one sword, the situation would be even more advantageous. Unfortunately, this was the sorrow of a small team.
No matter how good the manager was, he was limited by the strength of the team itself and could not play to his heart's content. The cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice.
Tang En quite admired Manzano, even though they had never met before. It was a remarkable achievement to be able to stabilize a team like RCD Espanyol in the middle of La Liga. Chen Jian could also play so well in his hands. It was not wrong to say that he was Chen Jian's second talent scout.
※ ※ ※
The first to score was, as expected, the visiting team, RCD Espanyol, who was more active and motivated. In the 31st minute of the game, RCD Espanyol first used a series of fierce attacks to tire out Barcelona's defensive line. Then, Chen Jian, who took the ball from the defensive midfielder position, suddenly passed a long diagonal pass close to the ground near the center circle. The ball narrowly avoided the blocking of three Barcelona players along the way and accurately passed to his forward teammate, Emilio, who cut inside from the flank. The speedy forward took advantage of the situation after receiving the ball and suddenly entered the penalty area. Facing the attacking goalkeeper, Barcelona's goalkeeper, Roberto, he flicked a shot and scored.
The Camp Nou stadium, which had been like a pot of boiling water just a moment ago, immediately quieted down. Only a small group of RCD Espanyol fans were raising their arms and cheering loudly. They shouted the name of Emilio, the hero of the goal.
Tang En also stood up to applaud RCD Espanyol's goal. However, he was not cheering for Emilio, but for the number 10 who gave Emilio a thirty-five-meter penetrating pass.
Compared to four years ago, he was much more mature.
The difficulty of this pass lay in accurately finding that momentary gap and the path of the pass in the ever-changing situation on the field. At the same time, he had to judge whether his teammates could run to this gap and grasp the timing of the pass. If it was too early, his teammates would not be able to receive it, and if it was too late, his teammates would be offside. In addition, the use of footwork was also important. In such a long pass distance, and with the ball close to the ground, the speed was fast, but the difficulty also increased. Strictly speaking, there was only one path that could allow the football to pass to the destination, and it was less than three meters wide. The football must pass through such a narrow and long area without being intercepted by the opponent. It really required a lot of attention to the passing technique at the foot, strength and accuracy.
Xia Yang, the dabbler, only cared about praising Chen Jian's performance. His voice was loud, as if he hoped that Tang En would hear it and give him more on the individual contract. However, Tang En did not care about his plans. He saw a lot of things from this pass and was even more determined to sign Chen Jian.
Wood and Chen Jian's styles were not exactly the same, so there was no need to worry about the waste of overlapping positions. Moreover, with the two players on the field at the same time, it could also avoid the situation of the team's offense being paralyzed if the opponent marked one of them. Both of them were good at offense and defense. No matter who went up, they could organize the attack, and no matter who retreated, they could stabilize the defense. It was just that Wood's physical quality was better. In the offense, his strong penetration in the middle was very threatening, while Chen Jian relied more on passing to achieve this goal. The two players could complement each other.
Tang En had already begun to sketch out in his mind how the Forest team would attack and defend when the two players appeared on the field at the same time.
※ ※ ※
Barcelona showed their strength in the subsequent game. A powerhouse was a powerhouse after all.
In the second half, Espanyol's physical strength dropped significantly and could not keep up with Barcelona's pace. They scored two goals in a row in ten minutes.
Chen Jian's physical strength was good. As a midfielder, his running was not less than those of the wingers. It was just that he sprinted less. In the end, his physical strength could still support it, and the football was passed to his feet more often. Barcelona also saw this and identified Chen Jian as a target. It was a derby game, and the atmosphere was fiery. Naturally, they would not be polite when defending. Chen Jian was kicked three times, and someone from Barcelona also got a yellow card because of him.
Tang En was a little worried that Chen Jian would be injured in this game, and he began to hope that Manzano would replace Chen Jian. However, Manzano was unmoved. Instead, he let Chen Jian give up his position as a defensive midfielder and continued to press forward to the position of an attacking midfielder.
Following that, he made an adjustment and replaced the goal scorer, Emilio, with a defensive midfielder, Benjamin, who had exhausted all of his energy. This seemed to be a substitution to strengthen the defense.
However, what happened next made Tang En admire Manzano's methods, even if it was a little … well, it was a little like he did it at all costs.
As the core of the team, Chen Jian was often kicked and pushed by the Barcelona players. It was common for him to fall to the ground. Because it was a derby game, the referee blew the whistle very frequently, afraid that the moment he was careless, the two sides would fight.
As a result, Espanyol was able to get a lot of free kicks in the front field.
Benjamin, who was replaced, was obviously talented in free kicks. As soon as he got on the field, he took over the power to take all the free kicks.
Tang En could more or less see Manzano's plan.
When the game reached the 77th minute, Espanyol was about 25 meters away from the goal, directly facing the fans, and Chen Jian created another free kick. This time, Benjamin stood in front of the ball and completed it in one move. The football went around the human wall and went into the net.
The Camp Nou Stadium fell into dead silence for the second time.
Tang En, on the other hand, clapped his hands and laughed in the stands. Manzano's wishful thinking …
In the end, the game ended in a 2: 2 draw. Although Barcelona did not lose the game at home, not winning the game was considered a loss as a home game. Espanyol was also indignant about not being able to defeat Barcelona.
There were all kinds of verbal wars after the game, but Tang En did not care about that.
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