In fact, Nottingham had always had two professional football teams …
If it wasn't for the FA Cup, many people would have overlooked this point.
Many cities were proud of their 'high standard derbies' because it meant that their football atmosphere was strong and their standards were high. This would almost never happen in the city of Nottingham. Because Nottingham Forest and Notts County were not on the same level.
Nottingham Forest had already won five UEFA Champions League titles, while Notts County had yet to participate in the English Premier League.
Due to the huge difference in strength between the two teams, it was rare for Nottingham Forest and Notts County to have an official derby match.
Thanks to the FA Cup, such an opportunity had come.
The Notts County fans had to thank the FA Cup, because their opportunity had come. They had always wanted to teach their arrogant neighbor a lesson, but they never had the chance. Nottingham Forest would naturally not find an opponent like Notts County to warm up in a pre-season friendly. They were smart to not lose one or two of their main players, which would affect the entire season …
In the past, Notts County actually did not have the confidence to challenge Nottingham Forest. They could only curse and say that Nottingham Forest was a lackey of foreign capital and was no longer an English football team.
But now, the situation was different. Dunn's arrival had greatly increased Notts County's strength, and they could now stabilize in the middle of the English Football League Championship. This also made their minds active, and they wanted to prove their strength in front of their old enemies. As the saying went, 'one thinks of freedom when one is full' … Well, it was more or less the same. Their strength had increased by a level, and so had their mental fortitude. They dared to think about things that they did not dare to think about in the past.
So when the third round of the FA Cup was announced a month ago, Nottingham City was in an uproar. At least half of the people were eagerly waiting for the arrival of this match. As for the others … Actually, Nottingham Forest was not too interested in this kind of derby match.
Perhaps the current situation of the two teams could be summed up in one sentence: "Notts County only has eyes for Nottingham Forest, but Nottingham Forest has eyes for the whole world."
Therefore, in the face of the rare 'derby match', Nottingham Forest's training plan was not abnormal. It was the same as any other ordinary FA Cup match. Most of the players were not talking about their opponents in the FA Cup, but the Premier League.
Only Chen Jian thought that this matter was quite interesting. He went through a derby in Espanyol and then said goodbye to the city. He did not expect that a new team, a new city, would encounter another city derby.
Both the beginning and the end were in the "derby". Interesting, indeed interesting.
※ ※ ※
"Actually, this derby is quite interesting …" It was not until the day before the match that someone finally remembered that they were going to play a city derby the next day.
"Notts County's current manager used to be our assistant manager." Gareth Bale told a group of new players about the past, and everyone listened with fascination. There were not many players in the team who had experienced the "China assistant manager" era.
"Speaking of which, I didn't expect him to become a manager one day, let alone one of our city rivals …" Bale pinched his chin and smacked his lips. "Speaking of which, it has something to do with Chen Jian …" His words drew everyone's attention to Chen Jian.
"Ah?" Chen Jian realized that everyone was looking at him. For a moment, he did not know what to say. He had only been in the team for three days and was not familiar with the team yet. He did not know what to say in front of so many people suddenly.
"They are all China people, of course they have something to do with him," one of the players said. He was not surprised.
"It is said that there are more than a billion people in China. Do you think everyone has something to do with each other?" Bale said disdainfully. He pointed at Chen Jian and said, "Chen Jian graduated from our Forest youth team. But before that, do you know how he came to Forest?"
Not many people would know about such a thing. How many people would care about the past of a China player? The local media did not report much about it.
"A commercial talent show." Bale looked at Chen Jian and smiled. "He got third place, and then the assistant manager at the time, Dunn, gave him a Forest jersey. That's how he came!"
"Oh — —" The group of people suddenly understood and were satisfied at the same time. This story sounded interesting and quite legendary.
Chen Jian was a little surprised. He did not expect someone in the team to know about his past. He had never told anyone about it. When he came to Forest for a one-year trial, it was not a sensational news. No one in the First Team would care about such a small matter. Later, he came to the youth team to train, which was normal. Later, although he became a member of the First Team in his contract, he never appeared in the First Team. He did not wear the Forest jersey to represent the First Team in a game, even if it was an insignificant commercial game.
He felt that in Nottingham Forest, other than Manager Tang En, there should be no one else who remembered him as a passerby.
But he did not expect that today, Nottingham Forest's second captain, Gareth Bale, would remember his past!
He suddenly remembered what Tang En had said to him.
It was after he had just attended a press conference to join the team. The reporters had all left, and Tang En brought Chen Jian to the Crimson Stadium to step on the turf. It was another "welcome ceremony."
"Chen Jian, do you know the legend of Nottingham's past?"
Chen Jian was stunned for a moment, then reacted. "You mean the legend of Robin Hood?"
Tang En nodded and stopped walking to look at Chen Jian, who was following behind. "Although the name Nottingham Forest has nothing to do with Robin Hood, the team emblem is. That thing that looks like a mushroom is actually an oak tree. "Tang En pointed to the Nottingham Forest team emblem on the stadium's stands. "And the oak tree is the place where Robin Hood and his brothers met. It sounds a little like your China's' Water Margin, 'right? "
Chen Jian was a little surprised. "You even know about 'Water Margin,' Boss?"
"Not only do I know about it, I've read it many times." Tang En really wanted to answer him like that.
"How can I not know about China's Four Great Classical Novels?" Tang En did not continue on this topic. Instead, he said, "The oak tree represents the friendship between Robin Hood and his brothers, and also represents the strong and unyielding. The Forest team's legendary captain, Stuart Pearce, was known as having the 'Heart of the Oak Tree.' "
Chen Jian did not understand what Tang En wanted to say to him. The topic was getting further and further away. One moment it was Robin Hood, the next moment it was the team emblem, the next moment it was the oak tree, and the next moment it was the current England manager …
"What I want to tell you is that Nottingham Forest is like the bandits that gather under the oak tree. The people here are very pure. If they're good, they're good. If they're bad, they're bad. If you want to integrate into the team as soon as possible and get their recognition and acceptance, superficial efforts won't work. You'll speak with your ability. If you can show them your ability to make them nod, then you'll be considered a member of this bandit group. After that, you can drink big bowls of wine and eat big chunks of meat with them, ha! "
Tang En laughed.
Hearing such a strange team culture, Chen Jian was a little stunned. He stood in the middle of the huge Crimson Stadium. The stands around him were empty, and the afternoon sun could only shine on the east side of the stands. The green field was already shrouded in the shadows of the stands and the roof.
The Nottingham Forest team emblem was directly in front of him on the roof of the stands. The sunlight shone on it, and the metallic edges of the emblem glowed gold under the sunlight.
"… Nottingham Forest is like a bandit team. Do you know what I'm talking about? They will do anything to win. Stealing and robbing are the most effective methods for them. For a team like this to win the UEFA Champions League for the fifth time, it's the tragedy of modern football … "
This was what a famous football commentator in China had said on a blog after Tang En led the team to achieve the great feat of winning the Treble. Chen Jian had seen it by chance when he was surfing the internet.
Now that he thought about it, that person clearly hated Forest. He should be a Real Madrid fan, but he was right.
Nottingham Forest was a black nest of bandits …
When Chen Jian came back to his senses, Bale and his teammates were talking about Notts County again. In fact, they did not know much about this opponent. Even though Tang En had shown them videos of Notts County's matches in the past few days during tactical lessons, who would care about a weak opponent?
Therefore, everyone's topic was focused on, "Oh, I heard that their number 10 is not bad," "He was selected for England's U21 team," "That number 18 seems to be okay, but … he's a little thin," "But he's only at the middle of the EFL Championship," "Their flanks seem to be useful …" "What does the boss think?"
As soon as Tang En was mentioned, everyone stopped talking.
After a while, Bale, who was the most senior in the group, frowned and said, "I keep feeling that the boss doesn't take this game seriously …"
Chen Jian wanted to laugh when he heard this. I don't think you guys take it seriously either.
"To be honest, I think if we want to participate in European competitions next season, winning the FA Cup and entering the Europa League is the most suitable way," Bale continued to analyze. "But I keep feeling that the boss will give up on the FA Cup and focus on the league. But it's too difficult to fight into the top six of the league … "
Chen Jian had studied the situation of the Forest team. After all, he was also a member of the Forest team … He had to admit that what the second vice-captain said made a lot of sense. Although the FA Cup was very random, a team like Nottingham Forest was suitable for the big FA Cup. They might still have a way out if they focused on the FA Cup. The league was too long, who knew if something would go wrong in the future?
"What are you guys waiting for?"
Just as the group of people were feeling lost about the team's future, the number one captain, George Wood, pushed open the locker room door and walked in. "If you don't go out now, all of you will be late and have to run laps as punishment!"
Suddenly, the locker room was like a stampede of ten thousand horses. In the blink of an eye, a group of people ran out in front of Chen Jian.
"This …" Chen Jian really did not expect his teammates to be so agile and fast.
Wood turned to leave and found that there was another person in the locker room. When he realized it was Chen Jian, he stopped and looked at him.
Chen Jian realized that he had lost his composure, so he hurriedly lowered his head and ran out of the locker room.
This captain is really dignified, just looking at him makes me not dare to raise my head … Chen Jian thought as he ran out.
Fortunately, he could not see the news on that d * mned website in the country …
※ ※ ※
Bale had guessed one thing correctly. Tang En was indeed going to give up on the FA Cup. But he would definitely not give up in the first round.
The English Premier League teams would only start their FA Cup campaign after the New Year. To them, this was the first round, but in reality, it was the third round of the FA Cup.
Not only did Tang En not give up, but he also attached great importance to this match. Otherwise, he would not have continuously shown his players videos of Notts County's matches. It was a pity that although he attached great importance to this match, his players did not necessarily attach the same importance to this weak opponent as he did.
The players naturally had their reasons for not attaching great importance to this match. Because this opponent was too weak. According to the Forest players, they only needed to use 50% of their strength and they would be able to win. So what if it was a derby? It was not like they had never defeated Notts County in a derby before. Of course, that was a long, long time ago. Of the players who participated in that match, only Wood was left in the team. Even Bale was still training in the youth team and reserve team at that time.
But this history could always be investigated. Recently, the local media in Nottingham had been reporting on this derby 14 years later. The derby 14 years ago was the closest to today. How could it not be mentioned repeatedly by the media?
With such a "historical record" in front of them, the Nottingham Forest players naturally felt that winning was a matter of course. They also felt that defeating their opponent would be a piece of cake.
If it was an ordinary manager, he would probably have the same thoughts as his players. But Tang En's reason for attaching great importance to this match was very special, and it could not be told to others.
He had always wanted to be Dunn's opponent. He wanted to see how much Dunn had grown after so many years. In addition, he believed that this match was the best chance for him to show his strength in front of the Nottingham Forest fans and Evan Doughty. He would definitely not let it go.
Notts County would definitely go all out. This match could not be compared to the one 14 years ago.
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