The Forest players, whose confidence had been aroused by Wood's brilliant performance, were united and held on to Middlesbrough's frenzied attacks at the last moment. Even though they looked disheveled and battered, they managed to hold on to the score of 0: 0 into overtime.
This was a watershed. Before the match, Middlesbrough did not think that the match would be dragged into overtime. That was why they attacked frantically in the last few minutes of the match. In Tang En's eyes, even though his heart beat faster and his pupils contracted sharply, he could see from the frenzied Middlesbrough players that they were putting up a last-ditch struggle.
This was their final frenzy. When the game went into overtime as they wished, the Middlesbrough players would no longer have any strength to threaten my goal. This is what happens when you underestimate me and my team!
They had expended too much energy and stamina in the 90 minutes because of their attacks. McClaren did not wait for the moment when the Forest team could not hold on and collapsed. Instead, it was his own players who were under increasing pressure. In the end, their final shot could even be kicked directly into the stands — this was helping the Forest team to get out of trouble.
There was a five-minute break between the 90-minute match and the half-hour of overtime. It was not long, just enough for the players who had been fighting for 90 minutes to sit down and take a breather, drink some water, and listen to the coaches' incessant chatter about the tactical arrangements. Then they would immediately stand up and continue to fight.
This little bit of time was not suitable for detailed tactical arrangements. Tang En got everyone to sit together and told them, "Continue to defend in overtime. Once we go into the penalty shootout, we'll definitely win!"
Everyone understood the simple and clear tactical arrangements. He no longer needed to do the mental encouragement. The team's confidence was high and their morale was high. There was no need for him to say anything more.
After the game went into overtime, Middlesbrough could no longer besiege the Forest team because both sides' stamina was greatly reduced. Tang En began to plan to change players to stall for time. In the first half of overtime, he replaced the exhausted Crouch with Rebrov. In the final moments of the second half, he replaced Gunnarsson with Clint Hill, who was exhausted and had cramps.
At the last moment, other than the two goalkeepers, only George Wood could sprint back and forth. This was also the most important guarantee that the Forest team did not concede a goal in overtime. His stamina was amazing. McClaren also used the last substitution in overtime, intending to put up a last fight. But when Cen Deng, who had just come on, tried to use his speed to break through George Wood, he encountered the same problem as Downing, who came off the field.
Like McClaren, he thought that Wood, who had been running for a hundred minutes, would not have the stamina to tangle with them, but they were wrong. George Wood seemed to have been brought on at the same time as Cen Deng. There was no problem with his stamina and his running speed was not affected. Even Cen Deng had suffered a setback in front of him.
"Perpetual motion machine, George Wood!" In the end, Andy Gray simply gave this young man, who did not know what fatigue was, such a nickname. It was quite fitting.
Under the leadership of the perpetual motion machine, the Forest team persisted until the scene they wanted to see the most — amidst the deafening boos of the Middlesbrough fans, the referee finally blew the whistle to end the 120-minute match!
"The match is over! Of course, it was only the end of the 120-minute match! After a long contest, the two sides entered the penalty shootout! This is the moment Manager Tony Twain wanted to see the most, but can his team beat Middlesbrough in the penalty shootout? " Gray was skeptical. Managers deliberately dragged the match into a situation they wanted to see, only to find out in the end that the result was not what they wanted — there were many such cases. "The penalty shootout is a method of deciding the outcome with a lot of luck …"
※ ※ ※
Twain squatted on the turf, holding in his hand the lineup list for the Forest team in the penalty shootout. Around him sat the players panting heavily. The match had finally reached the moment he had planned. Having defended against his opponent in the final moments, he had never been as confident as he was right now. Yes, I can win. I can win my first championship trophy since I became a manager! If you ask me for a reason, my answer is: No! I just believe that I can win!
Looking at the players sitting beside him being massaged by the team doctors, Twain shook the list in his hand and said, "I've heard this argument countless times. They think that the penalty shootout is a method of competing on luck, and the winning side is just a little luckier than the losing side. Now, I hope you know how bullsh * t this argument is! If the outcome of the penalty shootout can only be decided by luck, then why do we have to practice it every day for a week? Let me tell you what determines the final result of the penalty shootout is — confidence! Willpower! Just these two things! Do you believe that you can win this final battle? We've already experienced a difficult 120 minutes of challenge, and we've successfully made it to the end. Now, is there anyone who still doubts that we can't win? "
"No, Boss!" Despite being exhausted, the players still answered loudly.
"Very good! I know you've never doubted it because you're my players. You're all people like me who believe that the final victory will belong to us. You're all strong-willed warriors who won't easily waver! Close your eyes and think about the path you've taken so far this season. Think about the opponents we've defeated, the difficulties we've faced … When the team was at its worst, we challenged Millwall in an away game. What kind of game was that? " Twain guided patiently. The players who had closed their eyes frowned and clenched their fists. Those who had not experienced that game also closed their eyes. Twain did not care what they were thinking. After all, there was no one in his team from Millwall …
"Stuck in traffic, took the subway, met football hooligans, and in the end, we won! 7: 1! We shut up all those who mocked and humiliated us! The Premier League teams couldn't stop us, and we made it to the finals. Before this, how many people thought that we'd end up at the Millennium Stadium? No one, except for ourselves. We've put in so much effort, defeated one opponent after another, and stepped on their corpses to reach the throne. Now we're only one step away from that shining crown! What reason do we have to fall here? I know you're tired. Some of you fought until you had cramps. " Twain looked at Gunnarsson, who was draped in a team jacket and helping the team doctor massage his teammates. He was bought by the former manager, Collymore, but his dedication and professional attitude made Twain choose to continue trusting him. He was happy that he did not choose the wrong person.
"But now … even if we have to climb, we have to climb up! There's no difference between losing on the last step and losing on the first step. We're all losers! We have to win! We have to win! " Twain roared as he clenched his fists. He gritted his teeth and his expression was ferocious, letting everyone feel his thirst for victory and the championship title.
Walker quietly watched from the side as Tang En carried out this somewhat special "tactical arrangement for the penalty kicks." Logically speaking, most managers would do their best to reduce the pressure on their players before such an important penalty shootout, telling them to be at ease or to disregard the outcome of the match. Only Tony was doing his best to let everyone understand that winning was their only way out. He let them know that they had to win this match and put pressure on them. Was he not afraid that the players would collapse from the pressure? Or … did he trust his players more than most managers?
A sentence suddenly rang in his mind: "I trained them. When I need them to do it, they will do it." At that time, Tony's voice carried a sense of pride, like a general watching rows of well-trained soldiers walk past him and then rush to the battlefield. He trained them, he trusted them, and they used practical actions to repay his trust.
If the boss says we can win, then we can definitely win! If the boss says we can do it, then we can definitely do it!
What? You want to ask me the reason? Why? I can't tell you because we don't know either. But we just believe in him, just like he believes in us. There's no need for any reason!
Walker thought that perhaps this was the manager's charisma. Just like his boss, Brian Clough. Although he rarely appeared on the training ground and they only saw each other a few times a week, everyone was willing to follow him. They believed every word he said and listened to his arrangements. If the boss said, "Guys, we need a victory," then they would do their best to win that match.
Nowadays, such managers were becoming fewer and fewer. It was an era where the players' personalities were flamboyant. Managers were becoming more and more unskilled workers. They directed the match but could not discipline the team. They could be fired by the boss at any time and become the scapegoat for the team's poor results. Not to mention anything else, would the current managers dare to slap the main players in the team? Would they dare to punch a player in the stomach because he did not perform well? Would they dare to ask a player to go back to the hotel to shave his beard at the risk of being late before the UEFA Champions League final?
No. There would never be such a manager again. Because such a person would definitely not last long in today's football environment.
Although Tony did not dare to slap his own players and did not dare to ask his players to clean his shoes. But in some ways, he was really similar to the "boss"! No wonder Bowyer said that in the future, there would definitely be people who would compare Tony to the "boss".
To be able to win the hearts of the players and make them follow you willingly … It was really enviable!
(To be continued. If you want to know what happened next, please go to WWW. CMFU. COM. There are more chapters. Support the author and support the original reading!)
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
